Blake Shelton is finally delivering a long-awaited congratulations to fellow The Voice coach Niall Horan.
After the One Direction alum's mentee Gina Miles was crowned the NBC competition's season 23 winner on May 23—beating Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and Chance the Rapper's teams—the country singer sent a video message for Niall via Today ahead of his performance on the morning news program.
"Hey, Niall. It's your old hero, Blake Shelton here," the 46-year-old said on the June 9 episode. "Just wanted to say good luck today on your Today show performance. I miss you buddy."
Blake went on to joke he had a hand in rigging the season 23 competition in Niall's favor.
"Now that it's over with, I can finally tell you that I wrote it into the script that you were going to win The Voice," he added. "Congrats buddy. Good luck on the tour. Good luck on all the new music. I'll see you down the road."
After reacting with a laugh, Niall revealed this is actually the first time Blake has congratulated him on his win since they filmed the finale last month.
"Good ol' pops," the 29-year-old cracked, adding, "When I won The Voice, the only thing he said to me was, 'I taught you everything you know.'"
Blake—the most winning coach in Voice history with nine titles under his belt—announced last October that season 23 would be his last after appearing on every season for the past 12 years. But his decision to exit the singing competition wasn't a rash one.
"I think I was close to calling it a day right when COVID hit," Blake explained during a February Today interview. "And then, because of COVID, I didn't want to walk away from the show and leave everybody in a bind. I mean, this show changed my life. I'll stay here until the world kind of gets back to normal again."
The "God's Country" artist, who met wife Gwen Stefani on the show, also acknowledged how the series has changed his life.
"When I came on as a coach on this show, I mean, everything in my life was turned upside down," he continued. "And in a good way, you know? This has been incredible, but it's time, you know. It's time for what's next. A little bit of nothing would be nice."
(E! and Today are both part of the NBCUniversal family)