During The Voice Battle Rounds episode this week, Kelly Clarkson opened up about an embarrassing moment on Saturday Night Live early in her career.
While she and country star Kelsea Ballerini helped contestants Rizzi Myers and Presley Tennant prepare to sing Adam Lambert’s “Whataya Want From Me,” the American Idol winner told them they could just riff during their performance if they made a mistake. This reminded her of the time she covered up a mistake while singing “Breakaway” on SNL.
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“Literally, when I was on SNL and I sang ‘Breakaway’ years ago, I said something about ‘all I wanted was horses,’” Clarkson recalled. “I literally was like ‘Grew up in a small town, when the rain would fall down…’ and I blanked. And I just went ‘All I wanted was horses.’”
She continued, “I owned it. I was like, ‘Yes, I did want a horse!’”
The performance went well, but Tennant, 16, ended up being the winner.
“Presley vs. Rizzi was really hard for me,” Clarkson said after making her choice. “Rizzi is this incredibly seasoned singer, but Presley hasn’t quite been through a lot yet. She’s only 16. She just started driving! The growth from the blinds to the battles is insane, so I’m looking forward to seeing what else she has to offer.”
Myers, 29, was eligible for a steal, but none of the other judges picked her. In fact, John Legend expressed some regret in not doing so.
“Rizzie’s one of my favorites, but Presley just shocked the hell out of me,” Clarkson told Blake Shelton.
The battles performance also earned praise from fans at home.
Presley and Rizzi are SO GOOD!! Such powerful and bold voices. I loved the performance. It was posted on Facebook and I watched it twice. 😂 I can’t choose a winner because they are both fabulous!! I enjoyed how they encouraged and supported each other. #VoiceBattles #TheVoice
— Jeanette G (@jeanettemarie51) April 2, 2019
Both Presley Tennant and Rizzi Myers represented themselves well in this #VoiceBattles Great in-your-face approach from Presley but a such slithering snake approach from Rizzi. Vocally they were pretty equal. Idk. I think I’d go with Rizzi becaus she seems more deadly #TheVoice
— Robert Anton (@SoUWanaBaSinger) April 2, 2019
Tennant started singing when she was 7 years old. She joined the girl group 5LP when she was 11, and performed for the Jacksons and Kelly Rowland, according to her NBC bio. She has also released several singles, including “Childish,” “Bff,” “Stronger,” “So Special” and “The Woods.”
Clarkson made her SNL debut in 2005, when she sang “Breakaway” and “Since U Been Gone.” She also appeared on the NBC series in 2009, performing “My Live Would Suck Without You” and “I Do Not Hook Up.” She made her most recent appearance on the show in 2012, when she performed “Mr. Knows It All” and “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You).”
Photo credit: NBC
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