After nine seasons, Kelly Clarkson reveals "my favorite rehearsal I think I’ve ever experienced on 'The Voice'"
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Kelly Clarkson is in the middle of her ninth season as a Voice coach, and she’s won four of those seasons. But it took until this week, on The Voice Season 23’s third Battle Rounds episode, for her to reveal “my favorite rehearsal I think I’ve ever experienced” on the show.
That honor went to Team Kelly’s country belter Holly Brand and winsome folk-pop songbird Katie Beth Forakis, who faced off Monday on an exquisite cover of “Lady Like” by Ingrid Andress. “I love this song. I love the idea of powerful women just singing a powerful message. I think it’s undeniably cool,” said Kelly, confessing that she’d paired these “very stellar” but “very different singers” simply because she was curious about how they’d sound together.
And it turned out… they sounded pretty awesome.
“Holly is a powerhouse female country singer. … She has a very full, big voice. Katie Beth has this really cool thing about her, these incredible runs that she does. She goes to these places that are almost jazz-like,” mused Kelly, who admitted that choosing between these two ladies would be tough.
After their herstory-making rehearsal, Holly and Katie were a surprisingly even match in the ring, despite their different skillsets — “equally gifted,” as Kelly noted — with Holly heeding Kelly’s advice to make her robust vocals just “a little softer,” and the sweet, girlish Katie Beth seeming “not intimidated at all” by Holly’s still-undeniable volume. Katie was definitely the more unique and creative song stylist and storyteller of the two, with even Blake Shelton, obviously an avowed fan of “big, loud country singers,” telling Katie: “Your tone is the craziest thing. The volume never changes, but it seems the notes go anywhere you want them to go. … I’ve never heard anything quite like that before.”
And perhaps he’ll never hear anything like that again, because in the end, Kelly made the “hard decision” to go with the more versatile Holly, a fellow “country girl who can tackle any genre.” Sadly, Kelly had already utilized her Playoff Pass, and all of the coaches except Blake had used up their Steals (more on those performances in just a moment), so Katie Beth’s time was up. But at least Katie left knowing she was part of Kelly’s favorite-ever Voice rehearsal, so that was a win in and of itself.
These were Monday’s other Battles:
TEAM KELLY: D. Smooth vs. Ali, “Unaware”
Allen Stone’s hit was a smart choice for Kelly’s “two most soulful singers.” It gave D. Smooth the opportunity to showcase his “effortless runs,” and for Ali, a deaf vocalist who gravitates towards tunes with deep, heavy bass that she can really feel, it was absolutely in her sweet spot. This whole performance was really just a three-minute sweet spot — “just great music,” as Blake worded it — with such a sumptuous harmonic blend. “There was no battling; it was just two great singers giving each other room to do their thing,” said Niall Horan. Kelly said both singers did “incredible things that people on the Grammys aren’t even capable of doing,” and Chance the Rapper actually thought Kelly could win Season 23 with either contestant. I suppose that’s why Kelly used her above-mentioned Playoff Pass on D. Smooth, one of her favorite team members — thus overruling Chance, who’d tried to steal D. Smooth. “I know you want to work with him, but I just don’t care,” Kelly told Chance with a chuckle.
WINNER: Ali / PLAYOFF PASS: D. Smooth stays on Team Kelly
TEAM BLAKE: Grace West vs. Carlos Rising, “I Told You So”
This Randy Travis ballad clearly seemed chosen for proudly country-through-and-through artist Grace, Blake’s last-ever recruit. Even though Niall loved the combination of Carlos’s husky voice with Grace’s piercing tone, and Kelly said that Carlos, who’d auditioned with Eric Clapton’s “Change the World,” had “one of those voices” that could “sing many different genres,” Blake just couldn’t resist Grace’s “special, unteachable thing.” This result was so predictable, really, that I am surprised this Battle wasn’t montaged.
WINNER: Grace West
TEAM NIALL: Kate Cosentino vs. Tiana Goss, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
Fun fact: Cyndi Lauper’s iconic recording of “Girls” was a cover that she really made her own. (It was written and recorded by punk artist Robert Hazard in 1979.) I was concerned that if Kate and Tiana did the Cyndi version — which is so distinctively Cyndi — the result would be gimmicky cute overload. But by doing a “chill” version started off fragile and vulnerable before exploding into good campy fun, both women had the opportunity to showcase their serious range. That being said, quirky Kate clearly had — as Niall put it — “the sass and the fire and the willingness” to do any version of this song justice. So, it wasn’t surprising that Niall kept Kate. However, it was a bit of curveball when Chance stole Tiana. It’s a good thing for Tiana that Kelly had denied Chance the chance to poach D. Smooth earlier in the episode.
WINNER: Kare Cosentino / STOLEN: Tiana Goss moves to Team Chance
TEAM CHANCE: Chloe Abbott vs. NariYella, “I Want You Around”
A one-chair contestant (Chloe) up against a four-chair frontrunner (NariYella) might have seemed like an unfair pairing, but this too was a surprisingly equal Battle. Kelly called Chloe “phenomenal” and compared her to Erykah Badu; Niall called her a “full-time pop star”; and Chance praised Chloe’s jazz-influenced, Anita Baker-like, “very specific tone.” But just like with Kelly picking belter Holly, Chance could not deny the pure power of NariYella’s attack. Even Blake, who was completely unfamiliar with this Snoh Aalegra hit, said NariYella “had that song by the throat.” NariYella looked shocked when Chance picked her over Chloe, but when Chance called her “a vocalist’s vocalist,” it was pretty obvious that NariYella was going to advance. This show is called The Voice, after all.
WINNER: NariYella
TEAM NIALL: Ryley Tate Wilson vs. Michael B., “Heartbreak Anniversary”
I really didn’t expect either 15-year-old Ryley, who’s in the middle of a voice change, or Broadway-style singer Michael to do so well with this Giveon ballad; Niall himself had doubts about whether both crooners’ voices would sit easily in its “R&B pocket.” But both pretty, falsetto-laden vocals worked wonderfully here. I will say that Michael didn’t seem as comfortable or vibey with it as did Ryley, whose voice Kelly likened to that of a “broken angel.” But once again, keeping with Monday’s apparent theme, the bigger power-belter could not be denied. Thankfully, however, Niall still had hisPlayoff Pass, so Ryley the broken angel didn’t fly away from the show after all, and will now be flying straight to the live shows.
WINNER: Michael B. / PLAYOFF PASS: Ryley Tate Wilson stays on Team Niall
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