Jaelen Johnston Reveals Shocking ‘Voice’ Timeline: Nearly 2 Years Between Audition & Finale

When country singer Jaelen Johnston was named runner-up on season 27 of “The Voice,” it was the culmination of a nearly two-year journey with the NBC show. That may come as a surprise to fans who only saw Johnston and his fellow contestants — including winner Adam David — competing on the show from February through May 2025.

While speaking to the Chamber of Commerce in his hometown of Derby, Kansas, the 22-year-old revealed the extensive timeline, from his audition to the finale, the Derby Informer reported on June 16. But that long journey came after years of cutting his teeth, playing music wherever he could, so “to finally have it pay off in a way like this has been great,” he told the outlet.

Jaelen Johnston Says He Got His First Call Back Audition in 2023

Contestants on “The Voice” typically have 90 seconds to audition virtually for a casting agent who decides if they’ll move to the next round. According to the Derby Informer, Johnston told the Chamber of Commerce on June 12 that he earned an “open audition call back” in September 2023. That led to about 15 more Zoom calls, he said, before he was flown to Los Angeles in mid-2024 to prepare for the season 27 Blind Auditions.

The Derby Informer reported that Johnston experienced a bit of culture shock transitioning from Derby, with a population of about 25,000, to L.A., which boasts over 3.8 million residents. He mentioned being stunned by having to pay $50 for “a beer and sandwich” and at how much preparation was required before the Blind Auditions.

There’s a lot to cover before contestants step in front of the celebrity judges. Season 6 finalist Kat Perkins told Cosmopolitan in 2021 that producers spent a month training contestants on her season to be prepared for any scenario, from getting sick onstage to reacting when coaches turn their chairs, and that vocal coaches provided voice lessons, too.

“We also had social media and interview training by professionals who were brought in by ‘The Voice’ to teach us skills for living our lives ‘out loud’ on social media, radio, print, and red carpet platforms,” she told the outlet.

All of the prep made Johnston nervous, the Derby Informer reported, but he told the Chamber members that when his mom surprised him the day before the Blind Auditions began filming, “That was the thing that calmed me down the most was having that familiarity, being grounded in that moment.” 

Johnston went on to crush his rendition of Luke Combs’ “Where the Wild Things Are,” and he got chair turns from Kelsea Ballerini, Adam Levine and Michael Bublé. In the end, he chose Ballerini to be his coach.

Jaelen Johnston Was Told to Wait at Hotel For Days Before Super Saves

Johnston was eliminated from the competition after the playoffs, when Ballerini had to narrow her team down to just two singers before moving on to the live shows in May. But instead of getting sent home, Johnston told the Derby Chamber of Commerce that he was told by the production crew to stay in California for several days in case they needed additional footage of him, per the Derby Informer.

After sticking around for a few days, Johnston was packing up to head back to Kansas when someone called to say a film crew would be in his hotel room in two minutes. He barely had time to straighten up the room, he told the Derby Informer, before cameras arrived and Ballerini called to tell him about the new “Super Save” option, allowing each coach the chance to bring one contestant back on the show.

When she asked if he wanted to come back and compete in the live shows, he joked, “If you’re gonna twist my arm about it!”

Since the finale, Johnston has been on the road, but finally made it back home for his biggest show yet at the Wichita River Fest on June 7. Johnston is scheduled to play multiple shows around the state of Kansas throughout the month of June, with other performances scheduled in Nebraska and Missouri the remainder of the summer.