A heartbreaking end for one of the season’s favourites
The Voice Australia has reached its final stage — but one of the season’s most beloved young singers will not be there when the winner is crowned.
Twelve-year-old Leyla Sabo has been eliminated in the Semi-Finals, ending a remarkable journey that saw her quickly become one of the competition’s standout fan favourites.
Her departure came after coach Ronan Keating was forced to choose between Leyla and The 60 Four for the one remaining place from his team in the Grand Final.
Ultimately, Ronan chose the vocal group, leaving Leyla’s hopes of becoming the 2026 winner behind.
For many viewers, it was a particularly difficult goodbye given how strongly Leyla had connected with audiences throughout the competition.
The decision that ended Leyla’s journey
Leyla had made it through to the Semi-Finals alongside The 60 Four as the final two artists representing Team Ronan.
Both had already survived multiple rounds of the competition, with The 60 Four having an additional twist to their journey after Ronan saved the group during the Knockouts.
Leyla, meanwhile, had continued to attract attention with her performances and her maturity despite her young age.
When the decisive moment arrived, however, Ronan chose The 60 Four as his finalist.
Leyla’s exit was emotional.
After learning that her journey was over, she turned to her coach and said:
“Thank you for letting me get this far; I appreciate you.”
The simple words captured the emotion of the moment as the young singer said goodbye to the competition.
Why Leyla had become such a fan favourite
Leyla’s age was only part of what made her journey so memorable.
When she first auditioned for The Voice Australia, the Melbourne singer was just 12, but her performances quickly attracted attention from all four coaches.
She had also developed a strong connection with Ronan, later describing an immediate bond between them and saying she felt he had “a special place” for her.
By the time she reached the later stages of the competition, Leyla was no longer simply a young contestant with potential.
She had become one of the artists audiences were watching most closely.
Her performance of Demi Lovato’s Skyscraper helped secure her place in the Semi-Finals, while earlier in the competition she had delivered performances that left the coaches visibly impressed.
Mel C had already seen something special in her
One detail makes Leyla’s elimination particularly poignant.
Melanie C had previously suggested that the young singer could potentially go all the way and win the 2026 competition.
That endorsement helped underline just how much expectation had grown around Leyla as the series moved towards its final stages.
But The Voice is ultimately decided one round at a time, and reaching the Semi-Finals meant Leyla still had to survive one final decision from her coach.
This time, the decision went the other way.
From eight Semi-Finalists to four finalists
Leyla was not the only singer whose journey came to an end in the Semi-Finals.
After the latest round, only four contestants remained — one representing each coach.
Team Ronan: The 60 Four
Team Kate: Daisha Auda
Team Richard: Tommy Novak
Team Melanie C: Yung Milla
The 60 Four defeated Leyla for Ronan’s place in the final.
Kate Miller-Heidke chose Daisha Auda over Charlotte June, while Richard Marx selected Tommy Novak ahead of Tika Cetinich.
Mel C ultimately chose Yung Milla over Taylor Beadle-Williams.
Four artists now remain, with each carrying the hopes of their respective coach into the final stage of the competition.
The other emotional departures
The Semi-Finals also brought difficult farewells for several artists who had made it deep into the competition.
Taylor Beadle-Williams thanked both Kate Miller-Heidke and Mel C through tears after missing out to Yung Milla.
Charlotte June, who had made it further than she expected, admitted she had wondered whether her Semi-Final song, Ceilings by Lizzy McAlpine, gave her enough opportunity to create the kind of major moment needed at that stage.
Rather than dwelling on the disappointment, Charlotte said she was proud of how far she had come and revealed plans to release original music and move to Melbourne to pursue more creative opportunities.
Tika Cetinich was also eliminated after Richard Marx chose Tommy Novak, while the Quarter-Finals had already seen the departures of Cleo Paladino, Jack Hughes, Bertie Anderson, Victoria Knight, Wave Raiders, Jamie Koul and Phoebe Rose.
The four artists heading into the Grand Final
The remaining four contestants now represent four very different journeys.
The 60 Four will carry Team Ronan’s hopes after surviving the emotional decision involving Leyla.
Daisha Auda earned Kate Miller-Heidke’s backing after beating Charlotte June.
Tommy Novak secured Richard Marx’s spot after the coach chose him over Tika.
And Yung Milla became Mel C’s finalist after her decision between him and Taylor Beadle-Williams.
The four will now compete for the 2026 title, although New Idea reported that Channel Seven had not yet officially announced the Grand Final date at the time of publication.
Leyla’s story is far from over
For Leyla, missing the Grand Final does not erase what she achieved during the competition.
She arrived as one of the youngest performers in the field and made it all the way to the final eight before reaching the Semi-Finals — an extraordinary run for a singer still so early in her career.
Her elimination may have left fans disappointed, but it also marked the end of one of the season’s most memorable journeys.
And perhaps the most telling part of her exit was not the decision itself, but the way Leyla responded to it.
There were tears, disappointment and a dream that had just come to an end.
But there was also gratitude.
At just 12, she walked away from The Voice Australia without the Grand Final place many viewers had hoped she would claim — yet with an audience that had already watched her grow into one of the show’s most talked-about young performers.