Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Tom Nitti with Jacquie Roar and Alison Albrecht following the three-way knockouts on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Tom Nitti took to Instagram Tuesday, indicating that he left The Voice for family reasons.

At that start of Monday’s playoff episode, Reba McEntire indicated Tom had left the show for personal reasons.

That meant she had five playoffs contestants instead of six.

Without being too specific, Tom addressed his absence on social media.

“Well, I’ve been dreading this day ever since the blind audition so here goes nothin’. … First and foremost, I’m blessed beyond belief and I can’t say enough how much I love and appreciate the constant support from my fans, my friends and my family

“s much as it absolutely stings to say, I had to make probably one of the hardest yet easiest decisions ever and ultimately at the end of the day, my kids will always come first and if I had to make the same decision again I’d do it over and over.

“This past summer was filled to the max with everything I love and could’ve only dreamed of. And thanks to @nbcthevoice I was able to live my wildest dreams and do what I’ve always hoped. I made friends that’ll last a life time, experiences that I can hold on to forever and even found REAL and TRUE love (@ashleybryantofficial).

“I wish I can put every single person in this post that had my back going through the tough times while I was in California like @jacquieroar @huntleymusic @lennonvmusic @officiallybias @marajustine1 @thejordanrainer @steemusic @reba. But nonetheless I hope everyone knows how happy and grateful i am for them.

“This isn’t the end of me and I’ll do what I do best for everyone to see, which is keep my head down and move forward playing music and raising/creating new memories with a family I will continue to grow.”

“I never believed in the whole, things happen for a reason statement but in this case I think God has it all figured out. He knows I don’t break easily. For everyone asking, I’m alright and still standing.

“Thank you so much and as always, I’m super pumped to keep on keepin’ on with music, my kids Rayleigh and Brently my whole family to include my smokin’ girlfriend that keeps my head held high… Im more than ready to continue to live life now happier than ever before.”

Tom, 31, of New Hartford, N.Y., turned a single chair at his blind audition, but then upset four-chair turn recipient Dylan Carter in the battles. He lost his three-way knockout to Jacquie Roar, but made the playoffs when Reba used her save on him.

As for that vow to continue music, Tom’s been true to his word. Based on his social media accounts, he’s performing regularly. And don’t forget, this Purple Heart recipient from his service in Afghanistan has four singles out, all released pre-Voice.

For those wondering, Tom’s audition aired Oct. 2. The Voice Season 24 playoffs were filmed Sept. 28.

Speaking of which, The Voice had better keep its fingers crossed that it doesn’t have more dropouts in Season 25.

The playoffs for the spring season of The Voice were filmed Oct. 3-4. That’s right, Season 25 is already complete except for the three or so live shows.

That will mean an incredible gap of more than six months between the filming of the playoffs and the top contestants’ next appearance on The Voice stage.

If I was a Voice producer, that would make me very, very, very nervous.