Well, “America’s Got Talent” was wrong.
Before Carter Rubin of Long Island won season 19 of “The Voice” on Tuesday night, becoming, at age 15, the youngest male champion in the NBC singing competition, he was rejected when he did an audition for “America’s Got Talent” in 2017.
“Honestly, I’m so glad I didn’t make it,” the Shoreham, New York publicist told The Post. “Now I’ve won ‘The Voice’ and I feel like this is where I belong and I’m thriving.”
After Just Sam of Harlem won the “American Idol” title in May, Rubin brought another trophy to New York as the first winner of the Gwen team – Stefani, of course – to “The Voice.” But, due to the COVID-19 protocols, he and his coach had to hold back from a big hug to victory.
“It’s very hard, you just have to hug from a distance,” Rubin said. “But even though we couldn’t hug, we were able to establish such a close bond.” In fact, he added, “We made jokes about how I have my real mother, and I also have my mother ‘Voice.'”
Rubin chose Stefani as her coach after she and John Legend spun her chairs during the blind auditions. He ended up feeling good about choosing the former No Doubt forward: “One thing I’ve learned from her is that it’s okay to be myself … because there’s no one else like me, and I have to own myself.” .
With his pure-toned pipes and the charm of the blisters, Rubin made Stefani cry when he sang “Rainbow Connection” in a moving performance that sent him to the end of “Voice.” The song was dedicated to his older brother Jack, 19, who has autism. “She’s, like, the kindest, most positive, most affectionate, most affectionate person you’ll ever meet,” said Rubin, whose mother Alonna founded the charity Families in Arms to help parents with autistic children.
The music runs in Rubin’s family: both his brother Jack and his father David, who works in finance, play drums. And his grandfather Ric Mango once sang with the band of the 60s Jay and the Americans (“This Magic Moment”). “He can’t talk about me without starting to cry,” said Rubin, his proud grandfather.
While he may still be too young to drive, the teen prodigy said, “I’ve been singing forever.” His experience opening up to local groups, performing in LI restaurants and appearing in school productions helped prepare him for “The Voice”. However, singing without an audience during this season modified by COVID was not easy.
“I go through a live audience; it gives you an adrenaline rush, ”Rubin said. “So it’s definitely difficult when it’s just you, the four coaches and the virtual audience, because there are no animations or anything. You can feel a pine fall. It’s a little more intimidating. “
Even while staying with his mother in Los Angeles for “The Voice,” Rubin could feel the love of his hometown. “They wore Team Carter T-shirts and hung banners with their faces,” he said. “They all gathered behind me and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
The 10th grader, who will return to Shoreham-Wading River HS in January, is also grateful to be more artistic than athletic, even if he was harassed for it. “I’m a little different from the average teen boy, so I’d pick myself up here and there,” Rubin said, “but I’ve learned that being single isn’t bad. It’s a very beautiful thing.”