All ‘The Voice’ Singers Who Quit and Why
The Voice has crowned more than two dozen winners, and some have gone on to modest success. The show’s also-rans, meanwhile, at least get 15 minutes of fame on the NBC reality competition. But some choose to leave the show of their own accord — including, in this current season, Tanner Frick.
So why did the music end for these aspiring singers? Below, check out the contestants who opted out of The Voice and what we know about their exits.
Season 8: Anthony Riley
Riley left The Voice midway after Season 8’s battle rounds “for personal reasons,” as coach Pharrell Williams said on the show. Amid substance abuse struggles, Riley ended up spending two weeks in rehab, according to Philadelphia magazine. He died later in 2015 at age 28.
Season 14: Hannah Goebel
Goebel seems not to have elaborated on the “personal reasons” that led her to exit The Voice before Season 14’s battles, except to tell Instagram followers in a now-deleted post that she was well and that she still had her voice, per Life & Style. In a 2020 interview with Feed the Juice, Goebel said she has “nothing but positive things to say” about her experience on the show.
Season 15: Cody Ray Raymond
Coach Kelly Clarkson had another team member withdraw from The Voice a season later, when Raymond departed ahead of the Season 15 knockouts. He, too, kept mum about his departure, saying on Twitter only that both he and his family were OK and that he had to leave the show “due to personal matters,” per USA Today.
Season 23: Alex Whalen
At first it seemed we wouldn’t know why Whalen left The Voice in Season 23, since coach Blake Shelton only offered the usual “personal reasons” explanation. But Whalen gave fans the details in a YouTube video, saying that he tested positive for COVID on the day of the battle-rounds filming. “It’s unfortunate, but it is life,” he added.
Season 24: Tom Nitti
Similarly, The Voice host Carson Daly cited “personal reasons” as the reason behind Nitti’s departure before Season 24’s playoffs. Nitti later told the Observer Dispatch that he had to bow out of The Voice at the advice of his lawyers, because his ex-wife was pursuing primary custody of their children. “I made this choice not because I missed my kids,” he said, “but because I couldn’t imagine losing them.”
Season 26: Tanner Frick
Daly announced on the first night of the Season 26 knockouts that Frick was no longer in the competition. Hours before the episode, however, Frick posted a TikTok clip of himself singing an original song, and perhaps tellingly, he captioned the clip with one of the song’s lyrics: “Ain’t nobody want me anyway.”
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