Spoiler alert! This story discusses Cut Week on The Voice Season 30, which aired November 2. Episodes are available to stream the day after they air with a Peacock subscription.
Season 30 of NBC’s long-running singing competition The Voice, currently airing on the 2026 TV schedule, is heating up with the first ever Cut Week. Due to audience demand, the Live Shows are back with six weeks of live competition, but before the singers could get to that next step, coaches Kelly Clarkson, Queen Latifah, Adam Levine and Riley Green had to make the biggest elimination in one week ever in the history of the show.
To get into the specifics, Cut Week saw each coach send two artists straight through to the Live Shows while the remaining five had to sing their hearts out as they battled for the last remaining spot. That’s three singers for each coach going through to the next round, with one additional pick made by America to round out the Top 13. While some coaches agonized over who to fill their final slot with, The Voice newbie Riley Green had the easiest selection of the night.
Cut Week Was Absolutely Brutal As Talented Singers Were Sent Home
This latest episode breezed by, as five singers for each team, 20 in total, gave everything they had to their performances in the attempt to win their individual coach over. The thing that surprised me the most about this new twist that was replacing the Knockouts, also known as Adam Levine’s least favorite part of the competition, was that each artist sang on a level where any of them were deserving of being sent through to the Live Shows. I’ve got to say, Cut Week was painful, with more than half of each team getting dropped all at once and having to say goodbye to truly talented competitors.
For me, the most shocking decision was the Maroon 5 frontman choosing to let Brandon Diaz, his steal from Team Queen, slip through his fingertips. Not to take anything away from Dakota Cohen’s performance of “Hemorrhage (In My Hands),” which was a worthy rock rendition that had Queen Latifah singing along.
However, Brandon’s version of “Dare You to Move” showcased expertly skilled vocals, and they prove he has what it takes to win. Not only that, but performance also ahd the Equalizer star and American Idol winner giving Brandon a standing ovation. That’s why I couldn’t believe Levine didn’t send him through to the next round.
Singer Joe Henley Has A Real Shot At Winning Season 30
While Riley Green didn’t get every single country singer on Season 30 for his team, he came pretty close, often pulling out all the stops to get them to choose him as their coach. From the beginning, 19-year-old Joe Henley has been a stand-out, so it was surprising when he didn’t get one of the automatic spots for the Live Shows. But his rendition of the Keith Whitley song “Don’t Close Your Eyes” was so heartfelt from the first note to the last that he earned the only four coach standing ovation of the night.
While the Marshals guest star said he thought he knew he was going to pick before Joe took the stage, Kelly Clarkson declared that she would be mind blown if he didn’t make it to the finale. It made Green’s decision to put Joe Henley through an absolute no-brainer, because he really could end up winning the season.
After the craziness of Cut Week, what I’m most curious about with next week’s episode is to learn who America will pick out of everyone the coaches eliminated. Clearly, I’m rooting for Brandon, but there wasn’t one bad performance from the 16 remaining singers. On that note, we’ll see how that turns out.
While we already know the competition series will be shaking things up with Season 31’s The Voice: Celebrity, we won’t learn who Season 30’s winner will be until December. So, be sure to keep tuning in to NBC on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET until then.
