Blake Shelton may be the most seasoned coach on The Voice, but that doesn’t save the country star from a little ribbing at the hands of Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and newcomer Ariana Grande. During Tuesday’s episode of the NBC singing competition, Grande surprised her fellow coaches with the choice of Nelly and Kelly Rowland’s 2002 duet “Dilemma” for Vaughn Mugol and Katherine Ann Mohler during the Battle Round — but no one was more surprised than the “God’s Country” artist.
“My thought was, ‘Wow, I can’t wait to hear that song for the first time,’” Shelton admitted when it came time to judge the performance. Clarkson immediately exclaimed, “Did you live under a rock?” as Legend chimed in, “This was an immensely huge song.” Shelton joked of growing up in Oklahoma, “There was a lot of rocks where I lived.”
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Shelton may be a country star, but “Dilemma” was no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 weeks before going multi-platinum worldwide and winning the Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Performance. Regardless of Shelton’s own lack of knowledge regarding the song, he was a huge fan of Mugol and Mohler’s rendition, but noted he felt the latter “was the one who gave it that extra little bit.”
Grande agreed, picking Mohler as the Battle Round’s winner and sending Mugol home. “This was such a far step out of her comfort zone that I had to go with her,” the “7 rings” singer noted of Mohler’s winning performance. Tuesday’s Battle Rounds also saw Grande choosing David Vogel over Chavon Rodgers following their rendition of Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down.” While viewers thought Rodgers snubbed Grande when it came to an exit hug, the contestant cleared things up on social media the next day.
“I totally did not see Ariana getting up to hug me,” he wrote on his Instagram Story. “I had my eyes down and was headed offstage after I was able to thank her for everything! … Ariana is so amazing and I am so grateful to her for everything. I love her so so much.” He continued in an apology to Grande, “I am so sorry I’m blind. I will make up for that hug I missed the first chance I get,” to which the Grammy-winner replied, “LOVE YOU. Holding you to it. 🙂 You were absolutely incredible!” The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. PT/ET on NBC.
