At the time, it seemed odd. The Voice season 20 Battle Round tapings were postponed three times. Now it turns out, Kelly Clarkson missed the whole round, with country singer Kelsea Ballerini taking her place. Things that make y’all go HMMM…
Originally, the Battles were scheduled to tape on Monday January 25 and January 26 and the Knockouts on February 5. Then the Battle dates moved to Monday February 1 and Wednesday February 3.
But THEN the schedule changed AGAIN. The Battle filming moved to Friday February 5 and Saturday February 6. The Knockout taping schedule changed as well. It moved from Friday February 5 to Saturday February 13 and Tuesday February 16.
The Battles were finally taped on Saturday and Sunday February 13 and 14 and the Knockouts on February 21.
At the time, I wondered if the set had a rash of COVID-19 infections. But it turns out, Kelly didn’t tape the studio round because she “felt under the weather” (see tweets below). Could the postponements have been caused by waiting for Kelly to feel better? Or finding a replacement for her? Or….
Hmmm… I wonder who's sitting in my chair.. any guesses?? ? Y'all tune into @NBCTheVoice tonight at 8pm ET/ 7pm CT to find out! #TeamKelly #TheVoice pic.twitter.com/35XHwwof3q
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) March 22, 2021
Thank you so much @KelseaBallerini for sitting in for me while I was feeling under the weather! I know my team is in great hands with you!! Y'all aren't going to want to miss this!! The battles start next week on @NBCTheVoice! #TeamKelly #TheVoice pic.twitter.com/qA7qSOpk5y
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) March 23, 2021
Team Kelly is in great hands with you @KelseaBallerini ?? #TeamKelly #TheVoice https://t.co/g9BvrfqddD
— Kelly Clarkson (@kellyclarkson) March 23, 2021
But it appears that Kelly won’t disappear totally during the Battles. The coach took on-set photos with her Battle Advisor, Luis Fonsi during mentoring sessions which happened, obviously, before the contestants performed. Kelsea will sit in Kelly’s big red chair for the studio performances.
Kelsea is no stranger to The Voice. In the fall of 2018, she coached The Voice digital series “The Comeback Stage” where she auditioned No Turn contestants for a spot on the show. And then for Season 16 in 2019, she served as Team Kelly’s Battle Advisor.
Celebrity Advisors for the season 20 Battle Rounds are: Kelly Clarkson and Latin star, Luis Fonsi; John Legend and R&B legend Brandy; Blake Shelton and country music duo Dan + Shay; Nick Jonas and Glee star Darren Criss. Check out the photo gallery below:
The Voice 20 Battle Advisors
correction: the third and final set of dates were originally omitted. Sorry for the confusion.
