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The Voice

Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

If you’ve ever watched the show “The Voice,” which teenage sensation Carter Rubin from Shoreham won last year, you know the format involves celebrity judges making blind choices during a prolonged audition process.

With their backs to the performers, the judges listen to the contestants sing several bars of familiar songs, sometimes swaying, sometimes mouthing the words, until they hear something in the voices that clicks or that they think they can improve to lead these aspiring artists to the promised land of a music contract, fame and fortune.

The process is imperfect, as are most decisions we make.

The judges don’t get to rate everyone, listening to the entire array of singers before rank ordering or assembling their team. As they go, they add aspiring musicians to their teams, competing against the other judges to encourage performers to work with them.

This process is akin to so many others in so many contexts.

Many years ago, I attended a spectacular and extravagant holiday party for Bloomberg News at the Museum of Natural History. The organization had rented the entire museum during after hours. Fortunately, I brought my then-girlfriend, who is now my wife, to that event, which has given us a party to remember over two decades later.

Anyway, each room had a performer and a collection of tables with mouth-watering food. Hungry and maneuvering slowly through each room, we probably ate more than we should have in the first few rooms, until we understood the spectacular assortment of foods, culminating with sushi under the blue whale in the main room.

Pixabay photo

Having eaten more than I should prior to reaching the whale, I could only sample a few pieces of sushi before shutting down the food consumption. Well, that was true until we waited for the one person in the coatroom who was matching tickets to coats. At that point, servers brought trays of dark and white chocolate-covered strawberries up and down the line.

The point, however, is that the imperfect choices my wife and I made earlier in the evening affected how much we could eat as the night wore on.

In the last few months, I spoke with several researchers in Stony Brook University’s Department of Geosciences, including Joel Hurowitz and Scott McLennan. They are working with a rover on Mars that is choosing rocks in the Jezero crater, putting together a collection of samples that will, one day, return with a round trip mission to the Red Planet.

They can’t sample every rock that might reveal something about Mars, indicating whether life could have existed on the planet billions of years ago.

The decision to choose something in the present, like the rock in front of the rover on Mars, the current singer who is living out his or her dream on “The Voice,” or the morsel of food in a buffet that stretches throughout a museum, can limit the ones those same people have in the future.

Hopefully, along the way, we learn from the decisions we’ve made, the ones that work out and the ones that don’t, that enable us to improve our ability to make informed choices.

And, even if whatever we chose may not be exactly what we thought it was, we, like the judges on “The Voice,” might be able to mold the raw materials of our lives into something even better than we’d initially imagined.

Legislator Sarah Anker, left with scarf, presents a proclamation to Rubin alongside his parents and older brother Dec. 18. Photo by Julianne Mosher

Long Island’s very own Carter Rubin is back home and was greeted with a parade in his honor.

The 15-year-old winner of NBC’s “The Voice” was welcomed home Friday with a caravan of people supporting and cheering on the newest local celebrity.

Carter, of Shoreham, won the national singing competition during Tuesday’s series finale, as a representative of Team Gwen, headed by singer Gwen Stefani. 

On Dec. 18, several dozen cars lined up outside Shoreham-Wading River High School with signs and balloons, ready to surprise the sophomore outside his home. 

Also greeted by media, as Carter hosted interviews alongside his family, firetrucks, the local police and community members shocked the young singer with a warm welcoming. They held signs out of their car windows, handed him balloons and flowers, and yelled their joy for achieving a huge feat.

“I’m still in shock, I don’t think it really hit me yet,” the ecstatic and overwhelmed Carter said. “My feet have not touched the ground. I’m still trying to comprehend what happened.”

Since October, the young singer was traveling back and forth from his Shoreham home to Los Angeles to participate on the show. During the initial audition, Stefani and fellow judge singer John Legend both wanted the then-14-year-old on their teams. He chose the No Doubt singer, making this her first win on the show. 

After touching the hearts of both the judges and America as a whole, Carter is now able to share what he loves with the world, his mother, Alonna Rubin said. 

“It’s pretty awesome,” she said. “We’re so happy to be able to see him do what he loves and make so many people happy.”

Throughout the competition, he often dedicated his performances to his autistic older brother, Jack, who was back home watching his little brother shine on the small screen.

“I’m just so happy for Carter that he won ‘The Voice,’” he said, smiling. “It felt so good to see him on TV.”

Their mother is an advocate for the autism community and is founder of the local nonprofit Families in Arms, which helps support families of children on the spectrum.

The father said it was hard having his son and wife across the country, but FaceTime helped, and even the distance was well worth it to watch Carter shine.

“Watching him just do the work, perform and step up was amazing,” David Rubin said. “But he really made a big impact on people which is, as his parents, really incredible.”

Along with his new title as the show’s Season 19 winner, he also was awarded $100,000, a trip to Universal Orlando and a contract with Republic Records. Carter added that his next steps are to start writing his own music and start performing when COVID is done. 

“I want to get in the studio and record music to put out there for everyone,” he said. “Once COVID is over, I want to perform.”

He’s been performing for years, though, his grandfather Ric Mango said. Mango, who was a member of 1960s group Jay & the Americans, said that Carter had opened up for him and his own band since he was 6 years old. 

“He’s a great kid,” the proud grandfather said. “He’s great inside and out, and he’s going to be an idol.”

When Carter and his mother headed home Thursday night, family friend and Shoreham Civic Organization president, Mike Goralski, knew he wanted to do something special for the teen.

“I’ve been friends with the family for a little more than 12 years, and I felt as though something should be done because he’s a wonderful kid,” he said. “The family, from the kids to the grandparents, are
great people.”

So Goralski recruited local elected officials and the rest of the community to give Carter a big hello.

Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker (D-Mount Sinai) presented “The Voice” champion with a proclamation to congratulate him on his achievement. 

“This is the best holiday gift ever,” Anker said. “We really need this, and Carter is the perfect person to provide this excitement. His heart is so warm, his courage is so strong, and his belief that you can follow your dreams has made such a difference, not just for him, but for everyone.”

And while his personality shined on stage, he was still in disbelief he won this honor and received all this love from his neighbors.

“It feels amazing,” he said. “I’m just so grateful for all the outpouring support in the middle of a global pandemic.”

Carter Rubin won the season 19 finale of The Voice Dec. 15. Photo by Trae Patton/NBC

One talented Shoreham teen is going to join the list of other famous Long Island artists. 

Carter Rubin won the season 19 finale of The Voice Dec. 15. Photo by Trae Patton/NBC

Carter Rubin won over the hearts of Americans after they voted him as season 19 champion of NBC’s singing competition, “The Voice” the night of Tuesday, Dec. 15.

The 15-year-old Shoreham-Wading River High School sophomore is the youngest male winner on the show, who participated on Team Gwen, headed by No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani. 

“Gwen’s taught me so much, but the best piece of advice she’s given is for me to be myself when I perform and just in general,” Carter said the morning after his victory. “She’s helped me believe in myself more and she’s boosted my confidence.”

Carter began his “Voice” journey over the summer at just 14, when he auditioned for the show. He previously told TBR he had to keep it a secret until the show’s airing early October. And since then it’s been a whirlwind for the teen, spending months away from Long Island, his family and friends while performing and competing on the show. 

“For the blinds, battles and knockouts, I stayed in LA with my mom for almost three months,” he said. “It was hard being away from the rest of my family, but I knew I was there for a reason. Luckily, I got to go home and see my family and friends before coming back to LA for the live shows.”

But after weeks of singing and traveling, the two-part season finale aired eventually on Nov. 16 and 17. Carter, along with his competitors, performed one last time and waited for America’s votes. 

During the finale, Carter premiered his own new song, “Up from Here,” and then sang alongside Stefani on her — and fiancé/fellow judge Blake Shelton’s — hit Christmas song, “You Make It Feel Like Christmas.”

This was Stefani’s first win as a judge while Shelton’s team with singer Jim Ranger, came in second place. 

And while singing his original song was incredibly special, he said, his favorite performance came from the semifinals last week, when Stefani asked him to sing “Rainbow Connection” from “The Muppet Movie.”

Carter was ecstatic and dedicated it to his autistic older brother, Jack. 

Carter Rubin performed on Team Gwen with Gwen Stefani on the season 19 of The Voice. Photo by Trae Patton/NBC

“He could not be more happy for me,” Carter said. “He’s been so proud and understanding throughout this whole experience, and I’m so happy to call him my brother.”

Carter’s mother, Alonna Rubin, founded the Shoreham-based nonprofit Families In Arms, which helps to support families with autism. 

“I am so grateful that Carter was given the opportunity to show the world his God-given talent on such an iconic stage,” she said. “But more importantly, the world now sees how beautiful he is on the inside as well. Proud is not a big enough word to describe how I feel. We will be forever grateful for all of the love and support out there. This is just the beginning for him.”

Carter added that as his coach said, it’s time to start writing and recording more music. 

“Gwen says that it’s time for me to start writing songs, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” he said, enthusiastically. “I also want to get in the studio, record some music and I want to perform for live audiences again — once COVID is over.”

Confetti poured around Carter when Carson Daly announced his name. He buried his face in his hands, while Stefani repeatedly yelled, “You won!” Carter was in disbelief. On camera, Stefani was heard asking if she could hug her winner but, due to COVID-19 guidelines, they had to celebrate while social distancing. 

Miller Avenue School second graders and teacher Courtney Von Bargen
congratulate Shoreham-Wading River’s Carter Rubin. Photo from SWRCSD

“I’m still in shock,” he said. “It hasn’t hit me yet, but I just want to say ‘thank you’ to everyone who’s voted for me and supported me throughout my entire journey on this show. I couldn’t possibly be more grateful.”

And his community couldn’t be prouder. Earlier this week, the new star met virtually with second-graders in Courtney Von Bargen’s class at Miller Avenue School. In Google Classroom, they listened to Carter talk and asked him questions. 

Claudia Smith, principal of the school, said, “Carter is bringing so much joy to the Shoreham-Wading River school community.”

The second-graders created posters and banners to continue cheering on Carter before the finale. 

“I come from a small town where everyone knows everyone, and the support that I’ve gotten from my community means everything to me,” he said. “I couldn’t possibly thank them enough.”

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Shoreham teen Carter Rubin went team Gwen as he moves on with NBC’s “The Voice.” The show will follow his journey and viewers will get to see how far he goes. Photo by Chris Haston/NBC

He had two judges to choose from when he wowed viewers on “The Voice.”

Carter Rubin, 15, from Shoreham, auditioned for the NBC show back in July and had to keep it a secret until it aired last week.

“Early on in 2020, I went to an audition in Boston,” Rubin said. “And I was lucky enough to keep progressing after that.”

Things halted for a bit because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but eventually he was flown out to California to do a live, blind audition in front of some big names: Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson. 

After taking the stage, he wowed both Stefani and Legend with his cover of Lewis Capaldi’s “Before You Go.”

“You do not look like your voice,” Stefani told Rubin. Legend said he’s the youngest contestant he has ever turned his chair for. 

This led the two judges to battle over the Shoreham-Wading River High School sophomore. He ultimately chose Stefani. 

“She is the sweetest person ever,” he said. “She gives great advice and that’s why I went with her.

Rubin has been performing publicly at venues across Long Island since he was young. 

“I’ve been singing ever since I could talk,” he said jokingly. 

He chose Capaldi’s powerful ballad because it meant something to him. His older brother, Jack, was diagnosed with Autism. Rubin said the song, to him, is about being there for someone in need. 

“My brother and I have a strong connection,” he said. “And I always want to be there to help him.”

He said his brother, along with his family and schoolmates, are beyond proud of him now that the cat’s out of the bag. 

“They were so surprised because I had to keep it a secret for so long,” he said. “So, I was excited to be able to share what I’ve been doing this past summer.”

A singer in the school choir, and always involved with theatre, he decided to take a chance on “The Voice” to inspire others.

“I wanted to inspire others to follow their dreams,” he said. “It’s brought me so much joy and I want to heal other people with my voice, especially with times like these … People need music now more than ever.”

His mother, Alonna Rubin, founded the local nonprofit Families In Arms, which helps to support families with Autism. Rubin often performs at events for the organization, and she said she couldn’t be prouder of both her kids. 

“The biggest compliment that I’ve gotten since his audition is that he has the most beautiful, genuine soul,” she said. “To me there’s nothing more that I can be proud of …. Once again, he amazes me.”