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Content advisory: This article contains descriptions of death by violence, substance abuse, and suicide. Please take care when reading.
Any TV show that’s been on the air for an extended run is going to be subject to the ravages of time. People pass away and that’s just life, but The Voice has a more tragic history than most. Since its inception in 2011, the show has lost a handful of performers, something that’s pretty eye opening considering it’s a jaunty reality singing show.
For the uninitiated, The Voice is a competition show where singers battle it out to get chosen by a judge to be mentored during the season. Coaches have included various celebrities over the years, such as Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Camila Cabello, and many others.
Contestants start out in the “Blind Audition” portion of the show, where the judges are facing the audience. As they sing, judges can press a button and turn their chairs around to signify they want the artist to join their team. If only one turns, the singer defaults to that judge. If more than one turn, the singer gets to choose.
In later seasons, producers introduced things like blocks and steals for the judges to play against each other if they wanted a particular artist. There are other rules as well, but that’s the basic gist of it. Let’s take a look at some of the tragic deaths of The Voice contestants after they left the show.
Beverly McClellan From Season 1 – Died at 49 Years Old
July 6, 1969 – Oct. 20, 2018
Soulful, unique and charming, Beverly McClellan almost won the whole show with her powerhouse voice. Both Aguilera and Levine turned their chairs around during her blind audition of “Piece of My Heart,” but she ended up choosing Aguilera and riding that wave all the way to third runner up.
In March of 2018, she revealed a diagnosis of endometrial cancer that had unfortunately metastasized. She was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, and slogged away in bands in south Florida for years before her big TV break on the show.
By the time she made it onto the The Voice, she’d already released five independent albums on her own label. She had some other impressive accolades as well: she was the 2004 NY National Music Festival “Best Overall Performer,” and after appearing on the show, she toured with guitar superstar Steve Vai.
Christina Grimmie From Season 6 – Died at 22 Years Old
March 12, 1994 – June 10, 2016
This is one of the more tragic stories of a young star whose power was snuffed out too soon – not just in the music world, but in any world. Grimmie wowed the judges and Levine, Usher, and Shakira all turned their chairs around in the first few moments, with Shelton following shortly behind (she eventually chose Levine). Like McClellan, she finished in third place.
Grimmie was a YouTube star from a young age, and her stint on the show only increased her following. She was known for offering her fans an unflinching and unfiltered look at her life, and that ended up hurting her in the long run.
In 2016, she was in the midst of a concert tour and she stopped for a show in Orlando, Florida. During a meet and greet, 27-year-old James Loibl showed up with two guns and a knife. He convinced himself that the two of them were meant to be together and while she was signing autographs, he shot her four times.
Grimmie’s brother Marcus tackled him, but Loibl managed to take the gun and turn it on himself. Grimmie lost her life before she reached her prime, and it’s one of those tragic moments that demonstrate just how hard it is to be in the public eye.
Anthony Riley From Season 8 – Died at 28
Jan. 21, 1987 – June, 5 2015
Anthony Riley has the distinction of the fastest four chair turnaround of any Voice contestant ever. He sang “I Feel Good,” and all the chairs were flipped in seconds. He had buckets of talent and potential, but apparently also demons.
Riley cut his teeth as a street performer in Philadelphia for almost a decade, scrounging together a very meager living doing so. His talent was unmistakable, though, and he eventually chose Pharrell to mentor him.
Unfortunately, he departed from the show after winning his first battle round, something that was attributed to personal issues. Later, he went public about his ongoing struggles with substance abuse, and revealed he went to rehab after he left the show.
He told media that, “At the time, [The Voice] wasn’t working for me and I felt like I needed to go, instead of taking on more responsibility than I could handle.”
On June 5., 2015, Riley hanged himself in his apartment. Before he did so, he took his sneakers off and stashed them neatly in a corner.
Nolan Neal from Season 10 – Died at 41
Oct. 6, 1980 – July 18, 2022
Nolan Neal was another one of those monster talents that got all four judges interested during his blind audition on season 10 of the show. Neal wasn’t just a contestant on The Voice, either. He also competed on season 15 of America’s Got Talent.
His death was ruled an accident from “acute combined drug toxicity.” The Davidson County Medical Examiner’s office found a combo of morphine, methamphetamine, fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl in his system.
Nolan was fairly open about his struggles with addiction. Here’s what he told WBIR in 2020:
“I remember I got clean in 2010; May 15, went to rehab. Stayed clean. I joined the rock band Hinder, they were all about drinking and partying. This is not their fault. I had decided I wanted to drink like a normal person. I remember trying to be normal and fitting in. I remember going to a bar and ordering a drink. I tried to hide it. I remember pretending to be normal. I was just lying to myself telling myself that I could control it.”
He would often also talk about recovery and how he was trying his best to live in God’s will. He is survived by his wife Stephanie and his two children, Caylin and Cadence.
Janice Freeman From Season 13 – Dead at 33
June 9, 1985 – March 2, 2019
Janice Freeman got the attention of Miley Cyrus and Jennifer Hudson during her blind audition of “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. She chose to join Team Miley, and rode that wave to the top 11 on the show.
She passed away from a particularly bad case of pneumonia and a blood clot that reached her heart. After complaining of shortness of breath, she passed out and her husband performed CPR on her until emergency workers arrived. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. Official cause of death was ruled a pulmonary embolism.
Freeman was a fighter; she survived lupus, meningitis and cervical cancer, which she overcame.
“Her immune system continued to remain depressed, with even common colds threatening more serious repercussions,” her family said in a statement. “Throughout, Janice remained bright and hopeful, relying on her strong faith and a sheer will to live as she maintained an active performance schedule.”