The Voice viewers make major demand following shock announcement: 'Why would you do that?'

Sunday night's episode of The Voice Australia marked the end of the battle rounds, with the remaining 28 contestants now headed for the Knockout rounds. The night saw more than one shock twist, with LeAnn Rimes asking two of her team - Brad Butcher and Tori Darke - to progress as a duo so she wouldn't have to eliminate one of them.

Another big moment in the night came after the battle between Arthur Hull and James Vass from Team Guy went head to head, singing Tate McCrae's hit 'You Broke Me First.' After Guy decided that he would be taking James through to the next round, Adam Lambert came in at the very last minute and saved Arthur by adding the singer to his team instead.

Perhaps the biggest shock of the night, however, came at the very end as Matthew Hearne from Kate Miller-Heidke's team announced that he'd been offered a role in a stage show and would, therefore, be departing the competition instead of taking part in the knockouts.

This means that Kate only has six artists on her team instead of seven, leaving her with the option to invite one artist from any team who was not chosen to proceed in the Knockouts to fill the seventh (and last) spot on her team. Huge.

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Fans of the show were very quick to take to social media to share who they felt should be Kate's wildcard entry, with one name coming up more than anyone else.

Fans make demand following Matthew's departure

"I hope Falon is Kate’s wildcard," several viewers wrote on Facebook, referring to 24-year-old Falon Moore from WA.

Falon battled 21-year-old Nethra Raman from NSW, with the pair singing Cyndi Lauper's 'True Colours'. While the talented Nethra was the performer Kate chose to take through, many felt it was the wrong decision and that Falon had been the standout.

"I hope she'll be the wildcard. Falon was the clear winner," another viewer said.

"Why would you do that Kate? Falon won that round hands down I really hope she now gets the opportunity to come back," yet another fan wrote.

"BRING BACK FALON FOR WILD CARD!!!!!!," someone else demanded.

"I hope Falon gets the wildcard," another viewer added. "Pleased for Nethra though. Or if not her, Brad and Tori should continue as individuals, not a duo."

"I think you did an amazing job! Did you get to keep the dress? Praying you're the wild card ❤️," one fan said on Falon's Instagram.

There were some viewers, however, who thought that Kate shouldn't get a wild card pick and that the person who lost their battle to Matthew (Sydney singer Mary-Jean O'Doherty) should be brought back instead.

"Do not believe Kate should get a wild card, she should bring back the person knocked out by the guy choosing to leave the show," one said.

"Why didn't the person who lost to Matthew in the battles get the right to return?" someone else questioned on X.

Why did Matthew Hearne leave The Voice Australia?

According to the internet sleuths on X, Matt Hearne withdrew from the competition after accepting the role of Osric in the Australian production of The Grinning Man, which was playing at the Alex Theatre in Melbourne for six weeks earlier in the year.

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Taking to his Instagram stories on Sunday, Matt explained that the show he had left The Voice to take part in was now over but he'd had "the time of his life."

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