‘The Voice’ Singer Announces Pregnancy Onstage

The Voice contestant Talia Smith had a big surprise in store for her coach, Niall Horan, and everyone watching at home. After she was eliminated during the Battle Rounds, Smith shared that she was pregnant! Smith was set home after she and fellow contestant Jerome Godwin III sang Sam Smith’s “Like I Can.”

Once the two singers finished their performance, Horan had to make the difficult decision of choosing one over the other. In the end, he picked Godwin, who will move on to next week’s Knockout Rounds. Smith was not sad about having to go home though.

“This whole journey started with a sad story and now I’m standing here and my life has changed, so I’m just grateful,” Smith said. “Thank you for the opportunity and I’m just happy to be here. I want my future baby to look onstage and be like, ‘That was my mommy!’”

The coaches were utterly shocked and Horan went to the stage to give her a hug. “Did she say ‘baby’?” Kelly Clarkson asked. “Oh my god, that’s incredible!” Horan said.

“I love Talia,” Horan told producers later. “Talia is such a lovely lady and an amazing singer. I’m sad to see her go. But at the end of the day, I had to go with Jerome.”

While Smith had great news to share with the audience, The Voice started with difficult news for Blake Shelton’s team. At the top of the episode, host Carson Daly announced that contestant Alex Whalen dropped out of the competition, so Neil Salsich performed Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” solo. Whalen had “personal reasons” for leaving, Shelton told producers.

This is a transition season for The Voice, as the show sees Shelton celebrating his final year, while Horan and Chance the Rapper made their coaching debuts. Shelton, who has been on the show since the beginning, announced this would be his last season in October 2022. During a stop on Today in February, Shelton said he thought about leaving during the COVID-19 pandemic but agreed to stay on “until the world gets back to normal again.” During his time on the show, Shelton met Gwen Stefani, whom he married in 2021.

The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. The show is also available to stream on Peacock.