After witnessing which contestant went home in The Voice Season 26 battles, fans disapproved of the decision.
A recent episode featured a final battle involving Reba McEntire’s two talented Nashville, Tennessee, singers Creigh Riepe and Lauren Michael-Sellers.
They battled it out by performing You Will Be Found from the hit musical Dear Evan Hansen.
Reba enjoyed watching them perform the song during their initial rehearsals and gave helpful tips on improving their stage performance.
When they finally performed the song on stage, the coaches had to make tough decisions, and unfortunately, one singer went home.
Viewers seemed to strongly disagree with what happened after the singers’ performances.
Reba had a tough decision after Episode 9 battle
During the Episode 9 battle, Creigh and Lauren performed beautifully, entertaining all four coaches on stage with their renditions of You Will Be Found.
Coach Gwen Stefani said she found it hard to decide who performed better but called Creigh’s tone “insane” and said with the two singers, it felt “like they had such a vibe up there together.”
“If I had to choose somebody, I might go with Creigh. It’s hard. It’s so hard,” she told Reba.
Coach Michael Buble also mentioned it would be tough to choose but told Creigh he had “a really sweet voice.”
“On a show called The Voice, both of you have the voice,” he told both singers.
He also said some aspects could make him lean towards one singer over the other, but he didn’t have to choose.
Snoop Dogg also said the two singers “complemented each other very well” and that he “felt like he was at a [Broadway] show,” not a TV show battle.
He said he’d choose Lauren because her voice was “more controlled” but joked, “The thing is, I don’t have to choose!”
Reba had to make that decision, and she said she felt Creigh could’ve been part of The Beach Boys because he has fun on stage performing.
However, she ultimately went with Lauren-Michael, admitting in a backstage interview that she “liked everything about her.”
“You want to hear somebody that gives you joy,” she said, adding, “She just sings so well, and it really hit me hard.”
Unfortunately for Creigh, the other coaches didn’t opt to save him, ending his time in the competition.
Fans reacted to Creigh’s elimination from Episode 9
As mentioned, many fans disapproved of the elimination, some suggesting a coach should’ve saved him rather than allowing him to get sent home.
“Creigh not getting stolen is criminal!!!” one commenter said on X, with another indicating that “Creigh needed to be sent to next round!”
“Definitely got robbed man, you crushed that,” a fan said, with another commenter saying he “should have stayed. Loved his vocals and wanted to hear so much more.”
According to The Sun, an unidentified social media commenter claimed that the “wrong person went home” from the recent episode.
Several agreed with those sentiments on The Voice’s Facebook video about the battle.
“Again Reba sent the wrong contestant home,” one commenter said.
Others said, “Sorry wrong one was picked,” and “He was my favorite, so sad he went home #bringbackcreighriepe.”
Creigh initially performed Beautiful Things during the blind auditions stage of the competition, with both Gwen and Reba selecting him. However, he chose Team Reba, indicating that his daughter loves her and talks about her as if she were “a friend.”
“Reba, thank you so much for this incredible journey and for your feedback. I just can’t wait to see what Lauren-Michael does,” Creigh humbly said after his former coach chose Lauren-Michael to stay on Team Reba.
“Best of luck to you. You’re great,” Reba told him before hugging him on stage.
The Voice airs Monday at 8/7c and Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.