Spoiler alert! Proceed with caution if you haven’t watched Monday’s episode of The Voice.
Welcome to the Battle Rounds, Ariana Grande! The Voice’s newest coach got her first taste of eliminating artists in Monday’s episode, as the Battle Rounds kicked off. Grande and the other coaches — Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend — began whittling down their teams, as teammates were paired up for duets, with coaches having to choose winners at each song’s end. Each coach is also given one Save and one Steal to keep things interesting, and you can bet that Grande was glad she had those, even if "glad" wasn't the most apparent emotion.
In the first battle of the night, Katie Rae and Bella DeNapoli were given the monumental duet of “No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)” by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer. Ariana Grande and her singers were joined by Battle Advisor Kristin Chenoweth, who really got the sob-fest started. Chenoweth even turned backward in her chair to keep the contestants from seeing her cry, as she and Grande raved about the divas’ take on the classic song.
After the actual battle, though, Ariana Grande was a deluge of tears and couldn’t maintain her composure as she talked about listening to that song in the car with her mom. Check out the video below to see the most emotional coach feedback in Voice history.
Bella DeNapoli & Katie Rae absolutely slay this iconic song by Donna Summer & @BarbraStreisand. 🌟 #VoiceBattles #TeamAriana pic.twitter.com/WuksxCfhkCOctober 12, 2021
Ariana Grande was so heartbroken over having to choose a winner for the battle that Kelly Clarkson also started crying, as well as the contestants on stage. Somebody get the tissues and the mops! Grande told her fellow coaches that she’d been so stressed about that moment that she’d talked to her therapist about it. And the more Grande spoke, the harder Clarkson cried, saying she was so affected by Grande’s reaction.
How your voice breaks when you cry, is like, what the hell, just stop!
The “Thank U, Next” singer picked Katie Rae as the winner, but immediately used her Save to keep Bella DeNapoli on Team Ariana. So it was, by all means, a happy ending. However, that wasn’t even the end of Ariana Grande’s emotional journey on the first night of Season 21 Battles.
Her second duo, David Vogel and Chavon Rodgers, sang “Sugar We’re Goin Down,” and their coach actually held it together...until the time came to make a cut. Ariana Grande chose Vogel as the winner, and as Rodgers walked off stage, he walked straight past Grande, who'd stood up to hug him, setting things off yet again. Kelly Clarkson jumped in to reassure the heartbroken coach that Rodgers just hadn’t seen her, and Rodgers himself addressed the moment on Twitter.
Hey guys! Just wanted to clear something up! I totally did not see Ariana getting up to hug me. I had my eyes down and was headed offstage after I was able to thank her for everything! When I got backstage, a producer told me what happened and I was devastated. Ariana is so amazing and I am so grateful to her for everything! I love her so so much.
What a horrifying moment that must have been for Chavon Rodgers when he realized he accidentally snubbed Ariana Grande. But all you can do is joke about it, right?
pic.twitter.com/bbN7RLRNfaOctober 12, 2021
Even though Ariana Grande called The Voice the most painful thing she’s ever been a part of, I think she’ll get the hang of it after a couple of more battles/sobfests. The Voice returns at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday on NBC. Be sure to check out our 2021 Fall TV Schedule to keep up with all of the fall premiere dates.
