The Knockout Rounds are in full force on season 19 of The Voice -- and everyone's getting emotional!
Monday's episode featured a Team Gwen showdown between Carter Rubin and Chloé Hogan, which brought Kelly Clarkson to tears and had Gwen Stefani threatening to walk off (again) over a seemingly impossible decision.
Carter performed first, singing a powerful rendition of "You Say" by Lauren Daigle that brought the coaches to their feet in a standing ovation. All except Kelly, who was practically crumpled in her chair.
"Oh my god, OK," she said as the 14-year-old crooner concluded his performance. "Like, I can't breathe."
"My baby!" Gwen gushed with praise for the young performer.
Holding her own, Chloé countered with an impressive rendition of "Weak" by SWV that also wowed the coaches.
"This is gonna be a tough decision for Gwen," John Legend mused as he praised Chloe's song choice, saying the "degree of difficulty" was higher for the music instructor. "I was just stunned by how up to the challenge you were in every single moment."
"I'm gonna cry right now!" Gwen said of her choice, as the other coaches offered their input.
"Carter, I thought my makeup artist was gonna have to come out here and fix everything that's happening to me right now," Kelly marveled. "That's like a finale performance. It broke me in the most amazing of ways. And I'm still, like, about to cry about it."
As for Chloé, Gwen said, "I feel like, if I don't pick you, you're gonna become this huge star... I'm gonna be the idiot on The Voice that didn't pick you, and then John Legend takes you to fame."
Teasing host Carson Daly that she "hated" him for making her choose, Gwen ultimately picked "my boy, my son" Carter. But thankfully, Chloe did get the coveted save from John and will continue on to the live shows.
"The universe knew that I was supposed to work with Chloe," the "All of Me" singer said of his new team member. "She was just flawless and stylish and graceful. She's perfect for Team Legend."
"I already hate you!" Gwen said to John -- looking forward to facing her old team member in the upcoming live shows. To Chloe, she assured, "I'm not abandoning you, I had to pick somebody. Congratulations!"
The Voice looks a little different this season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with safety glass distancing the coaches and team members and separate performance spaces on stage for the Battle and Knockout Rounds. But Stefani noted ahead of the season how excited the coaches were to be back in any capacity, bringing some music and joy into people's lives.
"I think that being able to sit down and watch a show that's so inspiring and will bring inspiration to people, it will definitely bring joy," she noted. "Music is the heartbeat of human beings, so I feel really blessed to be here and to be a part of that and to be able to connect around America on the TV."
"Maybe the reason there's so much talent is that a lot of people are kind of paused and they get to kind of, you know, follow the dream in a way they didn't get to because maybe they're working or they were in school," she added. "I think there's kind of a different kind of group of people this time because of the opportunity that we are all paused in the world right now."
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. PT/ET on NBC. See more on this season in the video below.
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