Minor spoilers ahead for the November 11 episode of The Voice Season 26. Catch up by streaming episodes with a Peacock subscription.
The Voice kicked off its Knockout round this week on the 2024 TV schedule, with three members of each superstar team battling against each other for one spot in the Playoffs. Snoop Dogg dominated on NIght 1 by keeping all three of his artists on the show (thanks to those Saves and Steals), but amidst all the “Gangster Holy Ghost” summoning, there was a notable absence on Michael Bublé’s team. Host Carson Daly announced that Tanner Frick had left the competition, and fans expressed concern after Frick posted a cryptic message to social media.
Tanner Frick was slated to face off against fellow Team Michael members Sloan Simon and Cameron Wright on November 11, but ahead of the night’s final Knockout, Carson Daly explained that the 26-year-old “left the competition after rehearsals.” No further mention was made of Frick’s sudden disappearance, and those who went searching for him on social media found a video of him seemingly recording a song:
The caption on the video, which he also posted to TikTok, included lyrics from the record that seemed especially poignant given his absence from The Voice, as he wrote:
Ain’t nobody want me anyway…
Fans’ comments on the post proved that the sentiment wasn’t true, with many expressing concern and disappointment that they wouldn’t be able to see the rest of his journey on the competition. Their reactions included:
- You were my favorite. Hate that you had to pull out of the competition. Praying everything is ok. – dani_nash317
- You could have won it all. Sorry you left hope everything’s ok – roxannemargadonna
- Ugh I hate that you left the Voice. I had you as my top #1 artist! So sad to see you go but I hope everything is okay! You have an amazing voice and you have such talent. Keep pushing forward and good luck with your future. – bonnie_blue_eyez
- Oh no, where did you go? I felt like you could win the voice. Love your voice! Please keep pursuing singing Country Music – mama_of_many_butterflies
- Hope all is alright. Missed watching you tonight. Keep on keepin’ on with that AMAZING voice of yours. 🎸 🎶 – ebartos
Tanner Frick was a Four-Chair Turn in the Blind Auditions, singing “Thought You Should Know” by former contestant Morgan Wallen. With Frick having his pick of The Voice’s coaches, it was no surprise that the country music singer from Tennessee chose to join Reba McEntire’s team. However, after a loss in the Battles, he was saved by Michael Bublé.
From Carson Daly’s comment, it sounds like he did attend rehearsals to compete in the Knockouts, though it’s unknown if he stayed long enough to sing for Mega Mentor Jennifer Hudson, who was helping out Reba McEntire and Michael Bublé’s singers (Sting was the Mega Mentor for Snoop Dogg and Gwen Stefani’s teams).
With no explanation from the show or the artist, we can only speculate the reason for his exit from Season 26, which could be literally anything from a family emergency to creative differences to health concerns or outside obligations. We simply don’t know, but hopefully he sees that he made a lot of fans during the short time that he was on The Voice.
Catch new episodes of the NBC singing competition at 8 p.m. ET each Monday and Tuesday.