After praise from John Legend, Northborough's Zach Newbould loses battle on 'The Voice'

Despite getting glowing reviews from celebrity coaches Blake Shelton, John Legend and Gwen Stefani, Zach Newbould of Northborough was given his walking papers by Camila Cabello on “The Voice.”

Newbould, 19, who passed the blind audition and chose Cabello as his celebrity coach during an episode that aired Oct. 3, went head-to-head with fellow Team Camila teammate Andrew Igbokidi on the singing competition that aired Tuesday night.

Performing Whitney Houston’s 1987 chart-topper "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)," the unassuming, casually dressed Newbould was out-staged by Igbokidi, who wore a candy apple red leather jacket, black leather pants and white T-shirt.

Turning Houston’s 1987 bubblegum hit into an unlikely heartbreaking duet, Igbokidi sang first, followed by Newbould. Then the two singers joined forces and harmonized together, went back to trading verses, only to sing together at the end.

At the conclusion of the two-minute and 45-second performance, Cabello proudly declared, “Yeah, my boys!”

Gwen Stefani weighs in

Then came the celebrity coaches’ critiques, starting with Stefani.

“Zach, your voice really shined,” Stefani said. “It was, like, an alternative sounding voice in a pop song. I like the contrast of that.”

While she used the word “like” to describe Newbould’s voice, Stefani used the word “love” (twice) to describe Igbokidi’s voice.

“Andrew what I love about your voice is some of the unexpectant runs that you do,” Stefani continued. “They’re just not normal. I love the range in your voice and you can go so low. And you are very beautiful. You were stunning when you came out.”

Then it looked like the celebrity coaches were tilting in Newbould’s favor.

Praise from John Legend

Legend praised Newbould for being “more consistently on point.6

“The tone is really lovely,” Legend said about Newbould. “It was just well executed.”

Hearing what Legend said about his performance made an appreciative and overwhelmed Newbould softly mutter, “Thank you. Thanks so much.”

And it was clear who Shelton thought won the battle round.

“Zach, he came through the best in this performance for me,” Shelton said. “So I would go with Zach.”

After chastising Igbokidi for allowing his “hypercriticism” of himself from keeping him from accessing “the freedom and the fun to go that next level,” Cabello praised Newbould for his “persistence” and “growth” as a singer.

After a long commercial break that seemed like an eternity for anyone watching in Newbould’s hometown of Northborough, Cabello surprisingly picked Igbokidi.

For those keeping score at home, especially in Newbould’s hometown of Northborough, the end results must have been an absolute shocker.

Camila Cabello explains

In a behind-the-scenes clip, Cabello explained why she chose Igbokidi over Newbould.

And it appears that Cabello’s choice had everything to do with who she thought had a better voice and not who she thought delivered a better performance in the battle round.

“Zach did a great job but I had to go with Andrew because Andrew’s voice and tone is so special,” Cabello said. “I don’t think that there is any voice like his on the show. I don’t think he knows how good he is. And I just want to pull that confidence out of him.”

Despite being told that he “really shined,” “more consistently on point,” “did a great job” and “came through the best in this performance,” Newbould was given his walking papers.

Afterwards, Stefani said she would have “steal” Newbould if she could, while Cabello said she wished she had another “save” to keep Newbould in the competition.

Despite the disappointing outcome, the Algonquin Regional High School grad said some nice parting words to the four celebrities and gave Cabello a big farewell hug.

“This is a great experience,” Newbould said. “I feel like I’ve grew so much from it. Thank you, guys, so much.”

While this is the end for Newbould’s journey on “The Voice,” Central Massachusetts still has Cara Brindisi, who won her battle round last week.

Next for Brindisi on "The Voice" are the knockout rounds on a day yet to be announced.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Praise from John Legend, but Northborough's Zach Newbould off 'The Voice'