This story contains minor spoilers for the final night of Knockouts on The Voice Season 26. Episodes can be streamed with a Peacock subscription if you need to catch up.
The Voice’s 26th season is in full swing on the 2024 TV schedule, as the coaches wrapped up the Knockouts on November 18, each picking five singers to take with them to the Playoffs. Snoop Dogg got off to a good start last week, when none of his team members were sent home, but that luck couldn’t last, and the rapper completely broke down in tears over having to eliminate two of his young artists. Tears ran down Coach Snoop’s face as he delivered a heart-wrenching speech to his team — only to have the moment ruined by Carson Daly.
As Playoff teams were finalized on Monday night, Snoop Dogg’s last Knockout featured Chrisdeo, Mikaela Ayira and Torre Blake facing off against each other. During rehearsals with Mega Mentor Sting, the “Gin and Juice” icon said that he felt like the singers were his nieces, so it wasn’t hard to predict that Snoop was going to struggle to eliminate two of them. The coach cried through all three performances, then addressed the trio afterward, saying:
I didn’t think I was gonna get this emotional. I love these three girls. Y’all made me proud to see y’all take that information and get confident and get strong and be the women that I knew you would be. I’m just, I’m so torn right now because I can’t take all of y’all with me. And I’m hurt. And I’m supposed to be strong right now. I’m supposed to make y’all strong. But this is how you affected me.
The mood in the studio was somber, as Snoop Dogg’s words followed Michael Bublé saying that he was proud that his own daughter would be able to watch the show and see three strong, powerful women to look up to. Snoop’s speech continued:
I love each and every one of you, just like my daughters up there, man. That’s what this feels like. Like I’m sitting up here with my daughters and they finna to go to college and I gotta send two of them off and one of them get to stay home, and I’m like [sigh].
Snoop’s heartache was palpable, but Carson Daly seemed confused by the rapper’s metaphor. Without missing a beat, the host interrupted the sweet moment with the retort:
I’m not sure who the winner is in that situation.
The joke got a good laugh out of Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani, and I can definitely see where Carson Daly was coming from. While Snoop was choosing one artist to stay in the competition and sending the other two home, in his made-up scenario, two kids were allowed to go off to college while one had to stay home with Papa Snoop. Daly was simply questioning the logic of the comparison, but either way, come on man, read the room!
In all actuality, Carson Daly cracking a joke was probably a good thing to lighten what was kind of a heavy mood. Also, if the longtime host let The Voice coaches ramble on as long as they wanted to avoid making a decision, we’d never learn the winner of the Knockout.
Snoop Dogg, of course, let the Gangster Holy Ghost be his guide, ultimately leading him to choose Mikaela Ayira as part of his Playoff team. Tune in to see how she and the rest of the Top 20 do, as Playoffs kick off at 9 p.m. ET Tuesday, November 19.