The country singer made a surprising exit from the NBC series ahead of the Knockout rounds.

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We’re just weeks away from the live shows on The Voice season 26 — but we first have to get through the Knockout rounds! But there’s one contestant who isn’t going further in the competition, and fans were shocked to learn what happened.

On the November 11 episode of the hit NBC series, viewers watched coach Michael Bublé get ready to prepare Tanner Frick, Cameron Wright and Sloane Simon for their sing-off. But when it was time for the trio to perform for Michael, Reba McEntire, Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani, he got a shock about the status of where Tanner was.

“Michael, Tanner left the competition after rehearsals,” host Carson Daly told Michael, per Parade. “You still have Cameron and Sloane.”

NBC Universal

So, what exactly happened that caused Tanner to quit The Voice so suddenly during the competition? While Tanner didn’t explicitly give a reason behind the unexpected exit, he did post a cryptic video on TikTok hours before the episode aired on NBC.

As the aspiring musician shared a clip of him singing what appeared to be in a recording studio, he chose to caption it with a lyric that partially seemed telling of his story on The Voice season 26.

As fans may remember, Tanner initially got a four-chair turn in the Blind Auditions with his rendition of Morgan Wallen’s “Thought You Should Know.” He eventually chose Reba to be his coach, but he lost out to Tate Renner during the Battle Rounds. Luckily, he was saved by Michael, which gave him the chance to continue on in the competition.

“Tanner Frick is a huge win for me,” Michael stated at the time in a clip posted on YouTube. “That’s a 4-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, and my team is assembled.”

Although Tanner will no longer be on TV, this boded well for Cameron and Sloane. Given how they were the ones who continued through the Knockouts, they both made it to the next round and will vie for a chance to win it all.

We’ll miss Tanner and wish him all the best!

Adrianna Freedman
Editorial Assistant

As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey’s Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.