Sad news to report today The Voice alum Beverly McLellan has died. Fellow season 1 alum Nakia broke the news on twitter.

“I am absolutely heartbroken,” Nakia wrote on Twitter alongside a video of the two performing on tour, “My dear friend & fellow S1 @NBCTheVoice alum, @beverlyshane has died. Truly a unique soul with a beautiful heart, full of passion & an amazing talent.”

I am absolutely heartbroken. My dear friend & fellow S1 @NBCTheVoice alum, @beverlyshane has died. Truly a unique soul with a beautiful heart, full of passion & an amazing talent. This was us singing @xtina's Beautiful on tour.https://t.co/j7ry4PdkSt ? @AlTheKiller

— Nakia (@Nakia) October 31, 2018

According to an ongoing GoFundMe page, Beverly was battling cancer. From an October 22 update:

Hi everyone please continue to share. We received the bill today for incidentals and we owe $10,099.00 as of today. As you all may have already heard Beverly broke her femur while at CHIPSA, only 3 days into her treatments. And the Benefit, did not raise enough to cover it all. Please share and share again! Bev needs your help in covering the hospital bills. As you all have seen this is working and she is making major strides.

From a June 7, 2018 update:

Beverly McClellan was diagnosed with stage 3c Endometrial Cancer on March 30th, 2018 that had metastasized/spread to her bladder, colon and intestines. The Surgeon was able to remove all of the cancer he could see with his eye, and recommended chemo for what he couldn’t and is hopeful that she can beat this. At this time she is recovering from total abdominal hysterectomy, undergoing more testing and treatments including Chemotherapy; has been admitted to the hospital multiple times since the surgery.

Born on July 6 1969 in Kingsport TN, Beverly competed on the inaugural season of The Voice in spring 2011. The singer made it all the way to the finals with Team Christina Aguilera on the strength of throaty, big voiced performances of rock classics such as Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart” and Melissa Etheridge’s “I’m The Only One”

Beverly was an out and proud lesbian. In June 2011, she appeared on the cover of SHE magazine, a South Florida lesbian magazine. “I Can’t Hide” is an original song from the singer’s official YouTube channel.