‘The Voice’ Contestant Suddenly Exits Show for ‘Personal Reasons’

The latest episode of The Voice was short one contestant, making the duet part of the competition a little awkward. According to Taste of Country, Alex Whalen had to drop out of the show after unspecified “personal reasons” popped up.

Whalen had impressed the coaches and audience with his audition, singing “Help Me Make It Through the Night” originally performed by Sammi Smith. His duet partner, Neil Salsich, had to perform solo, with host Carson Daly explaining the reason for the invisible duet.

“Team Blake’s Alex Whalen could not be with us tonight, so in this case, his Battle partner will be performing solo,” Daly told the audience. Blake Shelton also took a moment to address Whalen’s exit.

“Alex had personal reasons that he had to bow out of the competition,” Shelton informed the audience. “It’s never easy to see artists going home, but Neil has a ton of charisma. He did a great job today.”

Salsich stepped up in the tough situation, continuing his impressive run on the show that saw all four coaches turn their chairs to select him, with Shelton using his block button to stop Kelly Clarkson from selecting the St. Louis, MO native. Salsich will move on to the Knockout Rounds next, with Shelton using the celebratory moment to cast shade at his former co-host, Adam Levine.

“I told him backstage, if you lose this Battle, it will be the worst fail in history. I mean, like, Adam Levine levels of failure,” Shelton added, joking as he approaches his final episode. Shelton would likely enjoy closing out his final season of The Voice with a big win. Salsich’s performance this week places Shelton’s team firmly in the favorite spot going forward. While he lost one member of his team, he still walked away with someone ready to ascend to the top of the show.