‘Maybe I should take this seriously’: Which ‘The Voice’ season 24 contestant admitted that they jokingly auditioned for the show?

With the second week of the highly-anticipated live shows underway, The Voice season 24 is down to its top nine contestants who are fighting to be crowned the champion, with four of these phenomenal performers being sent home tonight (Dec. 12) at 9 pm ET/PT on NBC, with next-day streaming available via Peacock.

The final nine contenders are as follows.

• Team Niall: Huntley 
• Team Niall: Nini Iris
• Team Niall: Mara Justine
• Team Reba: Jacquie Roar
• Team Reba: Ruby Leigh
• Team Reba: Jordan Rainer
• Team Gwen: BIAS
• Team Legend: Lila Forde
• Team Legend: Mac Royals

Out of the top nine, there is one stellar singer who did not expect to make it this far. In fact, she admitted in an exclusive interview with Parade that she only auditioned for the beloved competition series as a joke!

After her sister’s antics, 16-year-old Ruby Leigh explained:

“I auditioned with a bunch of rock songs dressed up like super country,” the Missouri native prefaced, which was a contrast from Ruby’s top-notch yodeling that we have grown to know and love. “I made it through a bunch of the rounds, and then I remember near the end, the producers were like, ‘We feel you have a great country voice, would you mind singing some country songs?’ I was like, ‘That’s actually my genre.’”

Shifting from a rockstar to a country crooner, Ruby made it through round after round, advancing to the blind auditions.

She continued:

“You don’t see yourself doing it, then when you’re doing it, it’s like, ‘This is what I want to do forever.’ I started singing when I was 9. I’ve been playing shows for a long time, for about seven years, and I played my thousandth show here recently. Coming from such a small town, it’s so crazy that I’m here in California on a huge TV show… It doesn’t seem real. I’m still getting used to the fact that I’m here.”

With her spectacular singing skills advancing her to the top nine, will Ruby Leigh find herself in the finale of the beloved competition series? Tune into NBC tonight at 9 pm ET/PT to find out for yourself…