Bowing out. After impressing the coaches — and the viewers at home — Alex Whalen, Cody Ray Raymond and more contestants on The Voice have exited the competition series over the years.
In October 2018, Raymond was the first singer to abruptly leave the NBC hit since its premiere in 2011. The Oregon native — who appeared on the 15th season of the show — withdrew from the competition before the knockout round due to “personal matters.”
“To all my supporters and new fans, thank you for the love with my journey so far, but due to personal matters, I’ve had to bring my Voice chapter to an end,” the Cody Ray & the New Favorites frontman announced via social media at the time. “I’m okay, my family’s okay, and stay tuned for new music coming. Sending love back.”
Raymond wowed judges Kelly Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson with his rendition of “Born Under a Bad Sign” during his audition.
“I’ve been through a lot,” the Air Force veteran told the coaches of his song choice. “I spent a year on the North Pole by myself in the military to playing on the streets of Seattle for food. It was like second nature to sing that song.”
With a choice between the “Since You Been Gone” singer and the Dreamgirls actress, Raymond ultimately chose to go with Clarkson as his mentor for the season.
Five years after the show’s first exit, Whalen left the 23rd season of the competition show due to “personal reasons.”
During the April 2023 episode, host Carson Daly revealed that the U.K. rocker would not be facing off against his teammate Neil Salsich for the Battle Rounds. Both Whalen and Salsich joined Blake Shelton‘s team for his final season on the singing competition. The country music star later explained the acoustic musician’s departure.
“Alex had personal reasons that he had to bow out of the competition,” he shared on the April 2023 episode. “It’s never easy to see artists going home, but Neil has a ton of charisma. He did a great job today.”
While praising the Mighty Pines frontman for his solo performance, Shelton also made a dig at his former costar, Adam Levine, who left the show in 2019.
“I told [Neil] backstage, if you lose this Battle, it will be the worst fail in history. I mean, like, Adam Levine-levels of failure,” the “Boys Round Here” singer quipped.
Keep scrolling to see which musicians have exited The Voice over the years:
