It’s a bold move to perform any song by one of the “Voice” coaches, but to perform one for them is another level of brave.
A 29-year-old contestant named Kelsie Watts decided to tackle coach Kelly Clarkson’s “I Dare You” during the blind auditions that aired Monday night.
Her rendition was more intimate than Clarkson’s original, and — spoiler alert! — the original “American Idol” loved it.
“You gotta sing that song!” Clarkson exclaimed when Watts finished. “Oh, my gosh, you just one-upped me on my own song!”
Watts, a performer originally from Texas and now based in Nashville, demurred and added she was ecstatic Clarkson enjoyed her rendition.
“I am so glad you liked it,” she said, relieved. “I was like, ‘Oh, man!’”
Clarkson said she doesn’t normally turn her chair for performers when they try to tackle one of her hits, but “I was like, ‘You cannot come out here and sing my song like that and not have me turn around.’”
In her pitch to win Watts as a member of Team Kelly, Clarkson said she’d be devastated if they didn’t work together.
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“There’s nothing cooler, first of all, than someone liking your song enough to cover it, but secondly, to make it even better than it was, which is what you just did,” Clarkson said.
It only made sense when Watts chose Clarkson as her coach for season 19 of “The Voice.”
In an interview later in the episode, Clarkson said she expects her latest recruit to go all the way.
“I would be shocked if she wasn’t in the finale,” she shared.
Monday night's show also featured a rare four-chair turn from the coaches for another Texan, Desz. The episode ended before Desz picked her coach for the season. Viewers can find out when “The Voice” returns Tuesday night from 8 to 9 p.m. ET.
