Littlestown native Aubrey Nicole brings stars to tears, causes goosebumps on ‘The Voice’

Littlestown’s own rising star once again brought a country music superstar to tears as she powered her way through yet another round of NBC’s hit singing competition “The Voice.”

During the first round of “Knockouts,” which aired on Tuesday night, Oct. 27, 2025, Littlestown native Aubrey Nicole, 20, became the first of 16 contestants who will move on to the show’s next round, the “Playoffs.”

“Thank you everyone for your love and support,” Nicole wrote on her official accounts. “I hope I’ve made you all proud!”

The playoffs are the final stage of pre-recorded episodes, with the survivors of the playoffs returning to the stage for the show’s final rounds of live shows.

In honor of her father’s battle with cancer, for her Knockouts performance Nicole selected the song “I’m Gonna Love You Through It” by Martina McBride to perform during a sing-off against fellow contestant Leyton Robinson.

The song recounts the struggles of helping a loved one through illness, something Nicole connected to as she shared on the show the experience of her father battling cancer as she moved away to college.

Her father is now in remission, Nicole said.

Nicole’s performance came after coaching by Reba McEntire, as well as from “mega mentor” Joe Walsh of The Eagles.

Much like Nicole’s original audition on the show had brought McEntire to tears, this performance, too, left the superstar overcome with emotion.

McEntire, who referred to songwriter McBride as a “good friend of mine,” told Nicole that she connected to the emotional performance and song, having lost her oldest child, stepson Brandon Blackstock, 48, to cancer in August.

“That was a real reminder that life goes on,” McEntire told Nicole as the two shared tears. “We sing songs about it so we can remember the ones around us that we love so much, and that we lean on at times like this.”

Though Nicole is performing on the team of McEntire, her on-air coach, the show’s three other judges also gave her high praise for the performance.

Coach Michael Bublé told Nicole that the performance gave him “goosebumps” and said he could not believe the voice Nicole has for her age.

“That was just stunning,” he added.

“You hit me in the heart,” said fellow coach Snoop Dogg. “That’s what music is supposed to do.”

The emotional performance, and McEntire’s response, quickly drew the attention of national entertainment news, such as Entertainment Weekly, which highlighted how the performance had brought so much emotion from the country music legend.

During the next round, the playoffs, Nicole is one of 16 contestants who will compete for just six spots to advance to the show’s live performance episodes.

Each of the four coaches can only advance one contestant from their team to the live shows, with two wild card contestants being voted on to advance to the live performances by viewers of the show.

Voting for the two wild card contestants will take place at a later time on the official app for “The Voice” on Android and iPhone, or through the show’s official website on NBC.com.

Nicole was originally selected by McEntire during the sixth round of blind auditions on the show, which aired on Oct. 7, 2025.

After graduating from Delone Catholic High School in 2023, Nicole is currently a junior at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

In November, “The Voice” airs on Mondays at 9 p.m. on NBC, and is streaming on NBC’s Peacock streaming service. The Playoffs round will air on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, and Monday, Dec. 8 on NBC.

The two-night live finale will take place on Dec. 15 and 16, 2025.