‘The Voice’: Kelly Clarkson Attacks Niall Horan for Blocking Her During Blind Auditions

The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson attacked fellow new coach Niall Horan for blocking her during the current blind auditions. It all started, ET reports, during the Season 23 premiere of NBC’s hit singing competition show. Near the end of the episode, singer Kala Banham took the stage to deliver a beautiful take on Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.”

The young performer’s unique and compelling voice piqued Clarkson’s interest, but it caught the former One Direction member’s ear as well. Just as Clarkson hit her buzzer to turn around for Banham, Horan threw down the gauntlet by hitting his buzzer also, and using his one and only block to keep Clarkson from being able to get the young singer on her team. Notably, Chance the Rapper turned his chair around for Banham as well, but Blake Shelton did not.

Once she realized that Horan had blocked her from getting the singer, Clarkson became increasingly upset, albeit mostly in jest. “We would have been beautiful together,” she told Banham, later adding, “I’m gonna steal you, mark my words. You will be wearing this [Team Kelly] jacket at some point in this contest, I promise you.”

“I can’t stand you, Ireland,” Kelly then said to her fellow coach, growing more frustrated. “Oh my god!” Hornan then pleaded his case to Banham, saying, “Kala, you get one block, and I chose to use it with you. You are unbelievable. You’ve got such a storytelling voice, so sweet and so beautiful… I just want to go grab a guitar and write a song with you… I would love for you to be on the first-ever Team Niall.”

Banham eventually began to share a little bit about her musical journey, eventually prompting Kelly to soar out of her seat over to Horan. Once at his chair, Clarkson began hitting the ex-bot band singer with her maroon Team Kelly jacket. Horan loudly joked, “Where’s my lawyer?!”

Ultimately, Banham did end up choosing Horan to be her coach. “Team Niall is shaping up so well,” he later said in Voice confessional. “Kala is the best addition I could hope for.” Horan then added, “I blocked Kelly because I knew she wanted Kala. And I let her hand get about this far about her red button. It was a perfectly timed block!” The Voice at 8 p.m. ET/PT and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.