NBC
NBC’s singing reality competition show The Voice aired the final episode of the Battle round of the competition on April 12, 2021, leaving coaches Blake Shelton, Nick Jonas, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson’s stand-in coach Kelsea Ballerini to make tough decisions about who will move forward in the competition.
Team Kelly’s Ainae and Anna Grace were set to perform together for the Battle round of the competition, and they blew the performance out of the water. Together, they sang Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good,” and they both impressed the coaches.
The feud between Clarkson and Shelton is still full-blown without her being in her red chair, however, and Shelton made sure to keep it alive after the duel.
Shelton Says Clarkson ‘Tested Positive For Dummy’
Following Ainae and Grace’s performance, Blake Shelton had some choice words about their absent coach.
“As you know, Kelly has tested positive for Dummy,” he shared, getting a laugh from the other coaches. “And, she’s not here today. Your coach already isn’t showing up for her job.”
Legend jumped in to tell Shelton that that felt like a “Kindergarten-type insult.”
Shelton added, “Ainae, it sometimes feels like when you’re singing, you’re restricting yourself a little bit. Like, there’s more that you could be projecting. Where, on the flip side of that, I just feel like there is no holding back in your singing, and for that reason, I think I’d go with Anna.”
Jonas told Anna Grace that he loves how “you kind of sing with your hands, you direct the notes.”
The Coaches Were Torn About Who to Choose
The coaches were not at all in agreement about who Ballerini should choose to move forward with. Shelton said that he would go with Anna Grace, while Jonas shared that he would go with Ainae because “there was just things in it that felt really fresh” and he thought that hearing her voice on a record would be fun.
Legend, on the other hand, offered some more advice to Ballerini.
“I loved watching both of you, you were both so engaging,” Legend started. “And if I were choosing, I think I would pick Ainae because of the way Ainae pronounces things, her tone, her flow just felt more of my style.”
Ultimately, Ballerini had to make the final decision since she was standing in for Clarkson.
“First of all, I want you to know that Kelly, she’s like Oz,” Ballerini said. “She’s in this room. She’s watching. She’s texting me. Just, I want you to feel taken care of and like your girl is here for you. I’m an extension of her.”
Ballerini connected with Ainae because the competitor said she had an “aha” moment at a The Weeknd concert, and Ballerini said she had the same type of feeling when she attended a Kelly Clarkson concert in Knoxville, Tennessee.
“She was singing ‘Behind These Hazel Eyes,’ and I was just like, ‘I have to do this with my life,'” Ballerini told the contestants. “And what I would say to both of you is that whether you’re singing in a coffee shop or in an arena, you can give someone that moment.”
Ballerini chose Anna Grace as the winner of the battle, sending her through to the Knockout round.
Anna Grace thanked both of the coaches on Instagram for her experience.
“I will never be able to express the amount of gratitude I have for this show and everyone involved,” she wrote. “Thanks for the unwavering support thus far. On to Knockouts.”
The Voice airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on NBC.
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