An emotional night for more than one reason.

Spoiler alert! This story reveals the Top 8 artists of The Voice Season 26 from the episode that aired November 26. Episodes can be streamed with a Peacock subscription if you’re not caught up.

It was already set to be an emotional night, with Michael Bublé being the fourth and final coach to choose the two singers to represent him on The Voice Season 26 live shows, which premiere on the 2024 TV schedule next week. There was no way of knowing, however, just how emotional it would be, with one of the crooner’s team members being assigned a One Direction song just over a month after Liam Payne died tragically at the age of 31. As the Top 8 contestants were revealed on the third night of Playoffs, The Voice also took the opportunity to pay tribute to the fallen pop star.

The Voice Pays Tribute To One Direction Member Liam Payne

When Team Michael member Shye was chosen to sing One Direction’s “Story of My Life” in the Playoffs, there was no way anyone could have known what the band and its fans would be going through right now. The Playoffs were pre-recorded this summer, just months before Liam Payne fell to his death from the balcony of his third-story hotel room in Argentina on October 16.

There are plenty of reasons to see John M. Chu’s film adaptation of “Wicked,” chief among them being this stellar cast’s renditions of some iconic tracks. Since the film first started screening, people haven’t been able to stop gushing about Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s live vocal performances. This is guaranteed to produce some memorable and emotional moments, especially if you were on set at the time of filming and a choir of birds decided to join in. I recently spoke with John M. Chu himself, and when describing his biggest “goosebumps moment” during production on “Wicked,” he told a beautiful story of when Cynthis Erivo as Elphaba sang one of the musical’s most emotional songs, “I’m Not That Girl”, with help from some feathered friends.

Following Shye’s performance, Michael Bublé compared her to a different member of One Direction, saying:

I met Niall Horan at close to about your age, and he was electric already, so I wanted to do something where I felt like I was paying tribute to that potential and greatness. Some people just got it, and we can’t explain it. There’s no way to articulate it. The lights turn on, and they just glow.

It makes sense that Michael Bublé might mention Niall Horan — who has been a coach on The Voice twice, winning both of his seasons — but it’s undeniable that hearing a One Direction song on the show just hits different so soon after the tragedy. As The Voice cut to commercial, the screen went to black and read:

It’s safe to say that Shye did the 1D song justice, too, as she was one of Michael Bublé’s artists to advance to next week’s live episodes. So who else is still in the running to win it all in Season 26?

Michael Bublé’s Picks Round Out The Voice Season 26 Semifinals

In addition to Shye, the “Haven’t Met You Yet” singer chose Sofronio Vasquez to represent him in The Voice Season 26 Semifinals. Next week’s episodes will be live, allowing viewers to vote for the singers they want to see in the finale. Here’s what the Top 8 looks like, grouped by coach:

Gwen Stefani:

Jan Dan
Sydney Sterlace

Reba McEntire

Adam Bohanan
Danny Joseph

Snoop Dogg

Jeremy Beloate
Christina Eagle

Michael Bublé

Sofronio Vasquez
Shye

The talent this season is pretty high-caliber, and I might be so bold as to say I was surprised at some of the artists who were eliminated in this round (I really expected to see teenage phenom Jaukeem Fortson, for one). That’s no shade to the eight above but speaks to the overall talent of the season.

Either way, if you want to ensure your favorite artists progress to the finale, be sure to tune in at 8 p.m. ET Monday, December 2, on NBC to check out the live performances.