Kelly Clarkson reveals the hidden side of The Voice rehearsals.

Kelly Clarkson Reveals What Happens at The Voice Rehearsals: “There’s A Lot…”

The Voice Coach and Team Kelly’s Artists pulled back the curtain of how they’ve been prepping together.

Every season of The Voice includes hours and hours of hard work leading up to the moments viewers see on camera. For the Artists, it’s the opportunity of a lifetime, so they practice at home, on the road, and everywhere in between. The Coaches, too, spend quality time in the rehearsal room, prepping their teams to take the stage.

How to Watch

Watch The Voice Mondays at 9/8c on NBC and next day on Peacock.

The Voice: Battle of Champions Coach Kelly Clarkson opened up to NBC Insider about what happens in the Coach-led rehearsals beyond the snippets that are shown in episodes. During a typical broadcast, viewers get to see the Coach and Battle Advisor or Mega Mentor give each Artist a little feedback and make an adjustment or two, but it’s basically one run-through, and then notes. In real life, according to Clarkson, they go through the song again, and again, and again.

“It’s a lot longer than the…segment you get on TV,” Clarkson revealed. “There’s a lot of, you know, changing it up or trying different things or maybe coming back — that’s a lot of it. And that’s the fun part.”

Discovering unexpected talents within an Artist, Clarkson continued, is one of the best parts of the process. Using her Team Kelly Artist JW Griffin as an example, she explained, “I found out a whole different side of him in these rehearsals. ‘Cause he’s a little quiet…you get to see this sweet side of him and then this huge voice in him, too. He can, you know, belt. It’s so fun and why the show is so successful still.”

Team Kelly’s Artists feel safe taking risks in the rehearsal room with her

JW Griffin, Liv Ciara, Kelly Clarkson, and Mikenley Brown during The Voice Season 29 Episode 7.

Photo: Trae Patton/NBC

During the same conversation with NBC Insider, Griffin called their Knockouts prep “a two-minute section on TV but…a two-hour thing we did in real life.” And within those two hours, he said, they worked on transforming his performance of “If It Hadn’t Been For Love” from “following along with the original” to “being able to make something my own.” Griffin said he was “really happy with how the song came out” and credited both his Coach and his Mega Mentor, Michael Bublé, for their guidance.

Another Team Kelly Semi-Finalist, Liv Ciara, shared her experience on the show, pointing to the time she took the huge step of choosing “Breakaway,” a beloved Kelly Clarkson song. “I kind of just wanted to stay in a box,” she recalled, before saying that Clarkson pushed her to remember that in a competition, you need to constantly improve and show off new skills. In other words, she needed to… take a risk, take a chance, make a change.

The Voice: Battle of Champions

The Voice Season 29 is shaking things up, premiering on Monday, February 23 at 9/8c on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.

Officially titled The Voice: Battle of Champions, Season 29 features the show’s first-ever three-Coach lineup, putting The Voice OGs Kelly Clarkson, Adam Levine, and John Legend back in the red chairs for an epic showdown.

The Voice Season 29 will also introduce fresh format updates such as the “Triple Turn Competition” and the “Super Steal.” You also won’t want to miss the exciting return of CeeLoo Green in a totally new role.

The Voice: Battle of Champions will end with a two-night Finale event

The Voice coaches during the “Knockout Rounds” Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson, and  John Legend sitting together on stage.

Photo: Trae Patton/NBC

To see how everything shakes out after these rehearsals, The Voice: Battle of Champions will broadcast a two-night Finale event on NBC, featuring a special appearance from NBA legend Jimmy Butler.

The Top 9 Artists will perform once again in the Semi-Finals, airing on Monday, April 13 at 9/8c on NBC, followed by The Voice Season 29 Finale on Tuesday, April 14 at 9/8c on NBC. Both episodes will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.