Valley residents will not have the opportunity to vote for Barry Minniefield on NBC's "The Voice" this spring.

The 53-year-old soul singer from Palm Springs was eliminated from the contest Monday night.

"It was bittersweet," Minniefield told The Desert Sun Monday night. "No one wants to lose, but we are all winners just by being on the show, you know. It was a great experience and I've just got to embrace it."

Minniefield sang Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do For Love" during the night's pre-recorded episode.

Scenes recorded before his performance showed Minniefield singing in a register higher than his usual one. "They're definitely bringing out an artist that I never knew existed," he said.

But Minniefield's opponent, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, sang Stevie Wonder's "I Wish." Her powerful, yet somewhat mellow, version of the song prompted the judges to recognize Boyd-Cannon's experience singing in her church and the emotion her voice easily conveys.

Celebrity coaches Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton all lamented that they would not have wanted to choose between two such powerful singers, and acknowledged that fellow celebrity coach Adam Levine would have to make a very difficult decision on who to advance.

After a minute of deliberation, Levine, per the rules of the show's "Knockout" rounds, chose Boyd-Cannon.

Still, though, Levine described Minniefield as "a much better singer" than he had been at the start of the show.

Minniefield's run on "The Voice" began March 2, when Levine chose him to be part of his "team."

In the show's March 16 episode, Minniefield sang a duet of Joe Cocker's "Feelin' Alright." Levine, at that time, chose to advance Minniefield over teammate Jack Gregori.

But with Monday night's decision Minniefield has been removed from the competition, meaning he will not advance to the next round — live performances where viewers can vote for their favorite singers from home.

Nevertheless, Minniefield beat more than 100,000 singers to even appear on the show. He was one of the last 40 remaining.

"At 53 years old, I'm learning so much," he said on the show. "You're not over the hill at 50. This is for the old people."

Already, Minniefield told The Desert Sun Monday night, the exposure has ignited his career. He went from singing at country clubs to singing for millions of viewers. He and "Voice" contestants Gregori and Cody Wickline, both country singers, plan to go on tour this summer.