A-list substitute! Kelly Clarkson was absent from The Voice on Monday, March 23, and country singer Kelsea Ballerini sat in as a judge for the week. Is Kelly sick? Keep reading to see what we know!
“Unfortunately, our own Kelly Clarkson was not feeling well this week. Kelly’s staying at home and she’s watching the battles remotely,” host Carson Daly explained during the episode.
Kelsea, 27, was ecstatic to temporarily step in. “When @kellyclarkson calls and asks you to keep her seat warm, you put all those years of being her super fan to work,” the “Hole in the Bottle” singer tweeted on Monday night. “Thank you, @johnlegend, @nickjonas and ole pops @blakeshelton, for making me feel like part of the @NBCTheVoice family.”
“I’m forever #teamkelly … see y’all at the battle rounds!” she added in a separate tweet.
The “Broken & Beautiful” singer, 38, retweeted the “Homecoming Queen” artist’s post. “Team Kelly is in great hands with you @KelseaBallerini,” Kelly wrote in response. She noted in a separate post that she was simply feeling “under the weather.”
However, fans may notice the American Idol alum is still on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week. The reason is the shows were filmed at different times. The Grammy winner’s talk show films daily while season 20 of The Voice started taping in October 2020, so it’s likely she fell ill sometime later that year.
The “Heartbeat Song” artist has not confirmed what she was sick with, but there was a COVID-19 outbreak on the set of The Kelly Clarkson Show in November 2020 after a handful of production staffers tested positive, Deadline reported. However, a source told Entertainment Tonight at the time that Kelly had tested negative following the flare-up.
Kelly’s illness clearly did not keep her down for long. The “Since U Been Gone” singer has many different jobs, and that’s exactly how she prefers it. An insider previously told Life & Style Kelly is “keeping herself busy,” especially amid her divorce from estranged husband Brandon Blackstock. “Kelly loves being busy! This is everything she has ever wanted,” the source added.
Although we miss Kelly on The Voice, Kelsea is doing an amazing job!