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A shattered Blake Shelton is reeling after his protégé Ryan Whyte Maloney committed suicide by shooting himself in the head on a Las Vegas street right in front of his horrified fiancée – and is convinced he could have done more to save the rising star, Knewz.com can reveal.
Maloney, 44, joined Shelton's team on The Voice in 2014, but Shelton was unsuccessful in helping the aspiring country star's career gain traction.
A source told us: "Blake is kicking himself because he wanted to do more to not only help him be a bigger star but to deal with the pressures that come with a life pursuing the kind of success HE had."
Maloney died on January 27 after performing a gig on the Vegas Strip.
In the car on the way home afterward, he and his flancée got into an argument.
He then pulled a gun from the compartment and jumped out of the car.
She said she heard one shot before chasing after Maloney. He then fired a second, fatal shot into his head.
An insider said Maloney's sad end has devastated 48-year-old Blake.
"Blake saw how badly Ryan wanted his kind of fame and fortune and gave him so many pep talks over the years," our insider added.
Even though Maloney released a series of singles, they were largely ignored by country radio.
"Blake believed his time was coming and even gave him a great-paying gig performing regularly at [Blake's chain of venues] Ole Red to help him out," the source added.
They also revealed: "He only learned later that Ryan suffered from emotional downturns and had suicidal thoughts for some time, but Ryan never showed that side of himself to Blake."