Niall Horan And Gwen Stefani Broke Down In Tears When Reba McEntire Shockingly Eliminated A Fan-Favorite Contestant On 'The Voice'

During The Voice‘s ‘Battle’ rounds last week, coach Reba McEntire found herself in a difficult position when she had to make a choice between Dylan Carter, who was adored by fans and who had a memorable Blind Audition, and Tom Nitti, another highly skilled vocalist. The two contestants had both given an outstanding performance of Cody Johnson‘s “Til You Can’t,” and McEntire had to decide who to keep on the show.

She ultimately chose Nitti to remain, and this surprised her fellow coaches Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani, who had also advocated for Carter to join their teams when he first auditioned (and went viral for his powerful vocals several weeks back). Horan and Stefani were moved to tears during Carter’s exit speech and some viewers online expressed their “shock” after it was revealed that Carter would go home “so soon.”

Reba McEntire Sends Popular Contestant Dylan Carter Home On ‘The Voice’ As Her Fellow Coaches React

After Carter and Nitti concluded their duet, all four coaches, including John Legend, were stunned by their harmonies and individual talents. Despite Nitti’s technically superior vocals that contained a pleasing amount of rasp and grit, Legend observed that Nitti had a habit of “hiding” himself behind his guitar on stage, whereas Carter effortlessly delved straight into the emotional core of the ballad and seemed to be in perfect “spiritual” alignment with the lyrics. The song that McEntire chose for them is about cherishing time with family before it is too late.

This seemed to resonate with Carter, who memorably wowed all four coaches during his Blind Audition with his cover of “I Look To You” by Whitney Houston. After all four coaches turned their chairs around for him, Carter explained that this was the very same song he had intended to play at his mother’s funeral last year, but it caused him to falter and break down from the weight of his emotions at the time.

Carter managed to capture the hearts of numerous fans by sharing that his adored mother passed away abruptly due to a heart blockage at the young age of 47, depriving him of the opportunity to bid her a final farewell.

Carter's emotional backstory moved McEntire to tears after he auditioned - especially given her own recent loss of her mother in 2020. It seemed that the two shared a powerful bond, and he chose her as his coach. Perhaps this is why many Voice fans who tuned in to this battle were shocked to see McEntire choose another contestant to stay on.

McEntire said that she chose Nitti (who only received a one-chair turn from her during his own audition) as he "continues to surprise" her. McEntire told Carter that "it's not over" and praised his performance. She also stressed that Carter and Nitti could be the "next Brooks & Dunn" and could possibly collaborate more in the future.

After Carter was eliminated, Stefani said in a confessional that she wished she had a "save" to bring Carter over to her own team. Horan said it is "always hard to see talented people" like Carter go home.

During his exit speech, Carter (who had previously admitted that his appearance on The Voice was his mother's dream before his own), noted that he achieved the sense of closure he sought after his brief stint on the show. "When you all four turned around for me, I gained so much confidence that I needed, and I felt my mom for the first time in a long time," he said as Horan wiped away tears and Stefani was visibly teary-eyed. "I’m going to keep chasing my dreams — keep chasing her dreams. Thank you so much."

McEntire stressed that Carter's journey "isn't over" and she'd still like to do "something" collaborative with him in the future. (We hope to see this too!)