Alabama singer’s ‘perfect’ performance thrills Reba in ‘Voice’ knockouts: ‘You touched my heart’
Transcendent moments on “The Voice” are few and far between, but an Alabama singer provided one for TV viewers this week on the NBC reality series.
Lauren-Michael Sellers, a former Birmingham resident, sang an emotional and reverent cover of Lauren Daigle’s “Hold On to Me” on Monday’s episode, prompting tears and praise from her coach, Reba McEntire.
“Lauren-Michael, when you started singing, I was crying,” McEntire said. “You touched my heart immediately.”
All four celebrity coaches on the show seemed deeply moved by Sellers’ performance, and most could be seen wiping their eyes as she sang the contemporary Christian ballad.
“Lauren-Michael, you are unbelievable,” Gwen Stefani said. “As I was watching you I was like, ‘Wow, she is so meant to do this.’ It’s magical. I’m blown away by you, blown away.”
“When that microphone and that music came on, it felt so perfect,” Snoop Dogg said. “It felt like you were just an instrument inside of the music, rather than a voice.”
“Lauren-Michael, you were in sync with the band, and there were moments when you literally used your hands to almost direct them. That’s something a leader does,” Michael Buble said.
Sellers was pitted against two other members of Team Reba on Monday’s episode: rocker Danny Joseph and country singer Tate Renner. All three were hoping to ace a round of the competition known as the Knockouts.
“Voice” contestants choose their own songs for the Knockouts and perform solo for a studio audience. The coaches determine the winner of each Knockout. When all is said and done, the list of contestants for the season has been trimmed from 36 to 20.
Although Joseph and Renner performed well on Monday’s program, earning their own share of praise, it was no surprise when McEntire declared Sellers the winner of the three-way Knockout. (McEntire later saved Joseph, who remains on Team Reba. Renner was sent home.)
“I chose Lauren-Michael because she touched my heart,” McEntire said. “When she started singing, it hit me in the chest. I started crying. I always say, ‘I got to feel something.’”
Sellers also made a connection with Jennifer Hudson, who served as a guest mentor for Team Reba during rehearsals. Hudson, an “American Idol” alum, forged a highly successful career after her 2004 stint on reality TV, winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award. She also hosts a daytime TV talk show.
“Lauren-Michael is a great storyteller, a spiritual singer,” McEntire said at rehearsals. Hudson evidently agreed, wiping away a tear and showering Sellers with kudos after hearing her sing “Hold On to Me.”
“When you make someone cry with your song, it shows you the power of music,” Hudson said. “When you can connect with people, you can move them … you can make them feel what you’re feeling. Lauren-Michael was doing just that.”
Lauren-Michael Sellers, a former Birmingham resident, rehearses for her Knockouts round on Season 26 of “The Voice.” She’s competing on Reba McEntire’s team.(Casey Durkin/NBC)
Sellers explained that the lyrics of “Hold On to Me” had deep meaning for her, referencing her religious faith and helping her to stay strong in the face of adversity.
“You know, I lost my mom three years ago, and I found my faith three years ago,” Sellers said. “So this song is quite literally about, ‘Hold on to me, please, God, somebody hold on to me.’”
“I just love how it’s coming from such a personal space,” Hudson said. “It’s precious; it’s your own. And it doesn’t need to be tampered with, touched, as pure as it is.”
Sellers moves on to a phase of the competition known as the Playoffs, which results in even deeper cuts for each team. Three episodes of Playoffs are planned, starting on Tuesday, Nov. 19, and continuing through Nov. 25-26.
If Sellers makes it past the Playoffs, she’ll advance to the live shows, where viewer votes decide weekly eliminations and determine the winner. (Early episodes of “The Voice” are filmed in advance, and the coaches decide who stays and who goes.)

Lauren-Michael Sellers, a former Birmingham resident, sang Lauren Daigle’s “Hold On to Me” during the Knockouts round on Season 26 of “The Voice.” She’s competing on Reba McEntire’s team.(Tyler Golden/NBC)
Sellers is the only contestant from Alabama on “The Voice” this season, but she’s a favorite on Team Reba. And lest we forget, Sellers is 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.