‘The Voice’ Singer Quits Unexpectedly, Abandons Team Ahead of Knockout Round

Team Bublé was down one ahead of the Knockouts on The Voice. Via Deadline, on Monday’s episode of the long-running singing competition series, host Carson Daly told coach Michael Bublé his contestant, country singer Tanner Frick “left the competition after rehearsals.” The former TRL host told Bublé he still has Cameron Wright and Sloan Simon.

Frick’s departure comes after he received a four-chair turn during his blind audition, singing Morgan Wallen’s “Thought You Should Know.” While Bublé, Snoop Dogg, Reba McEntire, and Gwen Stefani wanted him on their team, McEntire came out on top. During the Battles, Frick performed Jelly Roll’s “Need a favor” against Tate Renner. McEntire chose the latter, but Bublé came in with the save. “Tanner Frick was a huge win for me,” the Grammy winner said. “That’s a former four-chair turn and a piece of the puzzle that I didn’t have. I needed that country singer, and now I feel like I’m completely in the game. It’s a brave new world we’re about to head into.”

As of now, Frick has not given a reason for a departure. Earlier this week, though, he shared a TikTok of himself in the studio recording a song with the caption, “Aint nobody want me anyway.” It’s possible he’ll address his departure at a later time, but going off the comments, people were shocked to see him leave, especially since it was so sudden. Additionally, Frick seemed to be in good spirits during the Battles since he continued to promote The Voice and get fans excited.

The Voice was off for a week before the Knockouts due to the presidential election, so that, paired with the sudden departure, was definitely a lot for fans and everyone else when the show eventually returned last Monday. Of course, throughout The Voice’s 26 seasons, Tanner Frick is not the first contestant to withdraw from the competition early, no matter the reason. Season 24 saw Tom Nitti leave ahead of Playoffs for Team Reba, citing “personal reasons.” The previous season, Alex Wahlen also exited for “personal reasons” ahead of the Battles for Team Blake.

Exits do happen, unfortunately, and even though the reason for Tanner Frick’s is unknown, it does seem like he’s doing well for himself and could be dropping some music in the near future. In the meantime, Knockouts continue on The Voice on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.