The journey for Deon Jones on season 26 of The Voice came to an end on Monday night as the Mississippi soul singer was sent home during knockout rounds of the hit NBC show.
Jones, a native of Wiggins, took the stage donning an all-red suit. Dressed to impress, Jones had the coaches singing along with his rendition of Ike and Tina Turner’s “Nutbush City.” Halfway through, he dished the jacket to show off a sleeveless, red turtleneck while continuing to control the stage.
Boasting the most dance moves seen up to that point from Jones, the coaches were noticeably wowed. However, the competition was too stiff as Jones was pitted against fellow contestants Jose Luis and Camryn Brooks.
All three contestants were on Gwen Stefani’s team and vying for one spot to advance to next week’s competition. Luis, who sang Ariana Grande’s “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait For Your Love),” ultimately won out over Jones and Brooks.
Jones began the season catching the ear of Reba McEntire when he earned a single-chair turn after his rendition of Donny Hathaway’s “Little Ghetto Boy” during blind auditions. Afterward, the other coaches were wondering why they didn’t turn around and try to get Jones on their teams.
“I know that [McEntire] is hearing something that we’re not hearing because I’ve seen her do it before,” Gwen Stefani said at the time.
As often happens, Stefani would later get a chance at redemption. Two weeks ago, McEntire had to make a tough decision between Danny Joseph and Jones after an energetic performance of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” during the battle round. As soon as McEntire announced she was moving forward with Joseph, Stefani slammed down on the steal button and saved Jones from heading home.
“I had to steal Deon. I couldn’t let him go home. It seems like he can do almost anything with his voice. He’s not only just a good singer, but he’s a great performer,” Stefani said before hugging Jones and welcoming him to her team.
While it was bittersweet for both Stefani and Jones on Monday night, she had to choose as the contestant field naturally gets smaller heading into playoffs. Knockout rounds on The Voice will continue Nov. 12 and Nov. 18.
