Shocker on “The Voice”? Absolutely. Viewers who expected Alabama’s Lauren-Michael Sellers to sail into the live shows on the NBC reality series — and possibly make it into the finals of Season 26 — were sadly disappointed.

Sellers, a former Birmingham resident, performed with grace and power on Monday’s episode, covering Jelly Roll’s “I Am Not Okay.” She received lavish praise from the celebrity coaches on the show, including Reba McEntire.

“You’re the voice of ‘The Voice,’” McEntire told Sellers during rehearsals. “You get out there and you sing your butt off. That’s what you can do. You’re so good at it.”

Guest mentor Lainey Wilson seemed impressed as well.

“Oh, my gosh, girl,” Wilson exclaimed at rehearsals. “She can soften up when she needs to, and she can get big when she needs to. She’s very dynamic. Her story, you can feel it. It’s like, oozing out of her body.”

When it came time to perform before a studio audience, Sellers did exactly what McEntire said. She sang her butt off — or seemed to, anyway — offering an skillful rendition of “I Am Not Okay.” She hit the notes. She evoked emotion. She earned applause and compliments.

“Lauren-Michael, you sound amazing,” Snoop Dogg said. “You just keep growing … You’ve become a real superstar.”

“Your nuances in your voice, I feel like you wrote this song and you’re telling your story,” Gwen Stefani said. “Incredible job.”

“You did so, so good,” McEntire said. “I’m proud of you. You have chosen songs that touch my heart, because you can deliver a message so well — not only with your beautiful voice, but with your eyes, your expressions. And these songs help you tell the story that I think God put you on this earth to tell.”

But Sellers was facing a deep cut among the contestants during the Playoffs round, where the list of singers is trimmed from 20 to eight. McEntire, as her coach, would decide Sellers’ fate on the show.

Despite the glowing kudos she received, Sellers was eliminated. That meant she wouldn’t advance to the “Voice” semi-finals, and wouldn’t have a chance to sing for viewer votes. (Early episodes of the series are filmed in advance, and the celebrity coaches decides who stays and who goes.)

Sellers’ ouster was all the more surprising because she had earned mega-positive feedback from the coaches throughout the season. Sellers inspired a four-chair turn during her Blind Audition — indicated that all four celebs wanted her on their teams — won her Battle round against Creigh Riepe, and aced her three-way Knockout against Danny Joseph and Tate Renner.

The coaches used admiring adjectives to describe Sellers’ performances, such as “perfect,” “magical,” “beautiful,” “crazy,” and more. As a result, many viewers pegged her as a front-runner.

READ: Alabama singer’s ‘perfect’ performance thrills Reba in ‘Voice’ knockouts: ‘You touched my heart’

“Sometimes the dream takes a different path than you imagined, but it can still lead to something beautiful,” Sellers said Monday night on Instagram. “Tonight, my journey on The Voice came to an end, and singing @jellyroll615 ‘I Am Not Okay’ felt like sharing a piece of my heart. I’m so glad I got to share it with @laineywilson too. It’s okay not to be okay, and this moment, while bittersweet, is just a step in the story I’m still writing.

“To everyone who has supported me, cheered for me, and believed in me through this journey, thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Sellers said. “Your love and encouragement mean everything, and I hope you’ll stick around for what’s next because this is just the beginning. My voice, my songs, and my story aren’t finished yet.”

Sellers was the only contestant from Alabama on “The Voice” this season. She was following in the footsteps of Asher HaVon, the Selma native who won Season 25 as a member of McEntire’s team.

On her Instagram page, Sellers describes herself as “Georgia Grown” and “Birmingham Forged,” with a pin emoji to indicate her current home in Nashville. She’s released singles as a solo artist, including “Fallin’ All In,” “Take Me Back,” “Holding Out Hope,” “The Shelf” and more. Sellers describes her music on Instagram as the “Powerhouse Sound of Heartbreak.”

She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of The Heavy Hearts, a folk-rock trio formed in Birmingham in 2013. The band’s debut album, “Keep Your Light On,” was released in May 2014. Songs on the album included “The Boy From Iris Glenn,” “Georgia Grown,” “Hearts to Bend” and the title track.

A graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, Sellers earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Montevallo. According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked as a behavior specialist and collaborative educator for Birmingham City Schools for several years.

Her official bio for “The Voice” says:

“Lauren-Michael is a special education teacher and worship director. She believes her students have exceptionalities, not disabilities, and leading worship has gifted her with both a church family and renewed faith. With both master’s and educational specialist degrees, she uses her education to give her students a voice. As the oldest of five, she grew up quickly to fill the mom role to her siblings. In ninth grade, her mother lost custody of her and her siblings, leading them all to be separated. She then started writing as an outlet for her traumatic upbringing. One day, a teacher saw her journaling and pointed out that it looked like songs. Music became her total focus, ultimately leading her to receive a full scholarship to study voice and music composition. Now living and teaching in Nashville, she performs locally and participates in songwriting collaborations every chance she gets.”

If you watch: “The Voice” airs at 7 p.m. CT on Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC. The series also streams on Peacock.