One performance on “The Voice” Monday “will go down in history as one of the best knockouts ever.”
That’s what coach Kelly Clarkson said after playfully calling herself “so stupid” for pitting soulful singers Desz, 30, and Sid Kingsley, 37, against each other.
Desz brought the house down with a high-energy performance of Tevin Campbell’s “Can We Talk,” while Kingsley was equally impressive behind the piano on Foy Vance’s “Make it Rain.”
“You are two of my favorite artists to work with,” Clarkson said. “I’m so stupid for putting you two against each other. I can’t take it back. I really hope that someone gets stolen.”
Clarkson declared her “warrior vocalist” Desz the winner because, she said, “I’m always impressed when singers do things I couldn’t imagine doing.”
‘The Voice’:John Legend calls country singer ‘boring,’ Gwen Stefani steals him from fiancé Blake Shelton
Kingsley, however, isn’t going away yet. After being eliminated during the Battle Rounds by John Legend, stolen by Clarkson and then eliminated by the “American Idol” alum in the Knockouts, Kingsley was once again up for a steal.
Legend hit his button: “I’m sorry. I messed up and I know I caused you pain. … I would love to welcome you back to Team Legend.”
But Blake Shelton was ready to take Legend down. Shelton also hit his steal button, calling Legend’s plea “pathetic” while pointing out his opponent’s previous breach of loyalty.
“You and I haven’t had a chance to create a relationship yet, but I can promise you I would never be the one to break (your trust). And I’m sorry about what John did to you.”
This time around Kingsley took his mother’s advice. If you recall, during the Blind Auditions, Kingsley’s mother instructed him to join the country superstar’s team.
“(My mom) said, ‘You better pick Blake,” Kingsley said during the Blinds. Shelton approvingly said, “Do not disappoint your mother on national television.”
On Monday, Kingsley said, “I already disappointed my mom once by not picking Blake, so I’m going to go ahead with Blake.”
Leave it to Shelton to rub it in Legend’s face.
“I’m proud to have Sid on my team,” Shelton said. “I’m glad John pressed his button, because it gave me one last little moment of joy … to go against John and beat him badly with somebody that used to be on his team.”
Legend was left feeling “disappointed,” but received meager consolation: At least he’s not Shelton’s least favorite coach of all time. That “honor” belongs to mega mentor Usher, who served as a coach on Seasons 4 and 6, winning the latter.
“Even though I think you are a great artist and you are going to be a great mentor, I still say you were one of the worst coaches we’ve ever had on the show,” Shelton told Usher.
The star shot back: “You know what, I was just saying the same thing about you.”
