‘The Voice’: Kelsea Ballerini Calls Kelly Clarkson for Advice While Filling in for Her

On Monday night’s episode of The Voice, viewers will see a different musician behind one of the iconic red chairs. Kelsea Ballerini has been tapped to fill in for Kelly Clarkson, who was forced to miss the taping of the NBC competition due to an illness. Even though Clarkson won’t be present for the start of the Battle Rounds, Ballerini did give her a call in order to get her opinion on the state of the competition, as Talent Recap noted.

In a sneak peek of the upcoming episode, Gean Garcia and Ryleigh Modig from Team Kelly perform their own renditions of Ariana Grande’s “pov.” It’s safe to say that the two singers left the coaches in awe, as they both received a great deal of praise. But, Modig, in particular, received some glowing comments from the coaches, as Nick Jonas told her, “As a songwriter, you’re the kind of artist that I’d die to write songs for, to write with.” Jonas then said to Ballerini, “I would say that you’ve got the hardest job here today.” In turn, she agreed with Jonas’ sentiment and shared praise for both Garcia and Modig. Ultimately, Ballerini said that she needed to call Clarkson to get her advice on the matter, which prompted Jonas to jokingly quip, “I didn’t know we could phone a friend!”

Ballerini was able to get Clarkson on the phone, who, despite her illness, was able to offer up some much-needed guidance. Clarkson said, “Either way you go, it’s great. And you should feel safe picking whoever because I don’t think either one of them is going home.” That was all Ballerini needed to hear, as she said that she knew what she was going to do when it came to picking who would be continuing on with Team Kelly. After she hung up, Blake Shelton joked, “Kelly sounds just fine to me” and even said that he could hear ocean waves in the background (an indication that Clarkson could be on a beach somewhere instead of resting). To find out who Ballerini chooses to win this battle, fans will have to tune in to The Voice on Monday.

Ahead of her time in the coach’s seat, Ballerini shared a message in which she expressed her excitement over being able to be a part of The Voice in such a major way (Ballerini previously served as Clarkson’s team advisor in 2019 and as a fifth coach in 2018 for the show’s Comeback Stage competition). She shared, “when [Kelly Clarkson] calls and asks you to keep her seat warm, you put all those years of being her super fan to work. thank you [John Legend, Nick Jonas] and ole pops [Blake Shelton] for making me feel like part of the [The Voice] family. I’m forever #teamkelly…see y’all at the battle rounds!”