Warning! The following contains major spoilers for this week's elimination on The Voice. Read at your own risk!
Adam Levine just did something unprecedented on The Voice and threw one of his own contestants under the bus seemingly in order to protect another. After watching DeAndre Nico's performance, Adam gave a light compliment to his team member but then gave the implication he didn't deserve to be there when compared to another member of his squad also in the bottom three. What's worse is that the contestant Adam defended, Reagan Strange, did not even compete to stay alive.
Adam's defending of Reagan Strange may have helped The Voice contestant work her way into the Top 8, despite her not performing due to sickness. It also may have ensured that DeAndre Nico lost out to his teammate, as the audience ended up pushing Reagan ahead of him despite his solid performance of "All Of Me".
Following the performance, Adam Levine spent more time praising Reagan and reminding America she was still in play as opposed to encouraging votes for DeAndre. Levine's words of encouragement for Reagan Strange didn't sit well with some viewers, especially as they were immediately after DeAndre's performance. Once the results were official, a small army of viewers took to social media in support of DeAndre and condemning The Voice coach for using the singer's time to state his preference for Reagan.
That tweet and many others like it can be found as some felt it was unfair Reagan made the Top 8 without competing, sickness or not. Of course, that was part of the point Adam Levine was trying to make, which Kelly Clarkson later defended in saying it wasn't fair Reagan wasn't able to perform in the bottom 3. Despite Levine's semi-diss, DeAndre Nico took the moment with grace and thanked his coach for the support he provided thus far.
As mentioned the votes swung Reagan's way, which meant the absent performer was chosen for The Voice top 8 over DeAndre Nico and Team Blake contestant Dave Fenley. Fenley performed "Amazed," but obviously America was not impressed enough by his performance either to pick him over Reagan Strange. This could mean the votes would've swung her way regardless of what Adam Levine said, although it'll probably never be known how much his opinion influenced the vote.
The Voice airs on NBC Mondays and Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET. As the year winds down and shows begin to go on break, be sure to keep visiting our fall premiere guide to see what shows are left to watch in 2018. For a look ahead at what's happening in 2019, visit and bookmark our handy midseason premiere guide.
