Carter Rubin Heads To 'The Voice' Finals; Fans Wish Him Good Luck

SHOREHAM, NY — With all eyes glued to "The Voice" Monday night as Shoreham's Carter Rubin, 14, vies for his chance to win the final round, his hometown came together in a big way to send him good luck and all their support.

During a year that has been painful for many, Carter's performances — including a heartfelt rendition of "The Rainbow Connection" from "The Muppet Movie" that brought his coach Gwen Stefani to tears — have been a ray of pure joy.

And to thank him, students, friends, families, members of the Shoreham-Wading River school district and many more, from young to old, took the time to create moving messages that were compiled by Meghan Tepfenhardt into a 16-minute WeVideo video.

"As you can see in the video, there is a lot of caring and love in the Shoreham Wading community," Tepfenhardt said. "It is a wonderful place to live. This was a collaborative project to support Carter and his family, as they are wonderful people that make a significant contribution to our community and have for many years. Carter often lights up our lives with his musical and theater performances while his mom, Alonna, was the president of the Special Education Parent Teacher Association for many years in the SWR district. With Carter taking this amazing journey, we wanted to show our support and love as a community. Mr. Louis Parinello, Wading River School Elementary principal, and Caryln Albert Franz were instrumental in making this happen."

During the video, many say they are proud of Carter, no matter what the outcome. The video features excited little children, dancing and jumping with happiness. It spotlights the many who've nurtured Carter along his educational journey. And it also includes messages from some in the autism community, thanking Carter for speaking with so much love about his brother, who is autistic, and for telling the world that seeing the world through his eyes is a beautiful thing.

His family was touched by the emotional outpouring from SWR. "Please take 15 minutes to watch this. There are no words. Thank you to everyone in our SWR Community for this! We love you. #TeamCarter," Carter's mother Alonna Rubin wrote on Facebook.

On last week's show, where Carter soared on to the finals of "The Voice", cheering family and friends from his hometown were also spotlighted in a video clip that was shown.

"Hi, Carter! Sending you love from your hometown. The Wildcats Helping the Arts & Music and all your friends in Shoreham-Wading River — we are so incredibly proud of you. Keeping singing with your heart and we know you're going to go far," his exuberant supporters said in the video.
Reflecting on how it felt to be spotlighted on national television, Colette Grosso, who organized a "Team Carter" fundraiser to benefit the SWR WHAM group, which supports students in the arts, said it was a moment no one who participated will ever forget.

She added: "We were humbled by the opportunity to be a small part of Carter's experience on 'The Voice', and so grateful to show our support and admiration wearing the Team Carter shirts. The entire community has Carter Rubin fever," Grosso added.

Brekky, a cafe in Wading River, created a "Rainbow Connection Latte" in honor of the teen; Carter's rendition of the song from "The Muppet Movie" moved his coach Gwen Stefani to tears this week.

The Glenn Wayne Bakery in Bohemia also created a donut just for Carter.

America has shown the love to Carter, casting the votes necessary to send him on to the finals.

Carter was one of the Top 9 competing in last Monday night's semi-finals for a chance to make the finale.

On Tuesday night's results show, the Top 4 moved on to the final round; the other five were given the chance to sing for one instant save to join the others for a Top 5 finale.

"Thank you all so much for voting! Thank you for posting, and sharing, and texting, calling. Thank you for watching and supporting. . . and thank you for the love," Carter's mother Alonna Rubin wrote on Facebook Tuesday.

His friends and neighbors have been cheering on Carter in Shoreham.

"The entire community has Carter Rubin fever," Grosso added.

Carter saw his first success on the show during the blind audition in the second week of Season 19 of "The Voice," which airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.

The show is hosted by Carson Daly, with coaches including Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson. After his blind audition, Carter chose Stefani's team.

Carter said he was grateful for the support shown by friends at home. "They are super excited," he said.