Coach Kelly Clarkson has a tough decision to make after Cait Martin and Kala Banham take the stage!
Kelly Clarkson has a tough call to make as the Knockout Rounds kick off Monday on The Voice!
In a sneak peek shared on Friday, the coach tees up the first Knockout performances of season 23, pitting Cait Martin and Kala Banham against one another for the chance to represent Team Kelly in the live playoffs.
Cait takes on a tall task, performing Whitney Houston's "All the Man That I Need," while Kala delivers an emotional rendition of The Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" that leaves their coach dreading the decision she has to make.
"I'm so angry, you both did such a great job!" Kelly bemoans, hiding behind her hands.
"I'll throw in my two cents, which is not going to matter to Kelly," Blake Shelton begins, saying that he heard some sharp notes in Cait's performance, and praising Kala's "passionate performance."
Niall Horan and Chance the Rapper both praise Cait for tackling a Whitney song, and while Niall is leaning toward Kala, Chance insists, "I just wanna emphasize that Cait just smashed that. That was spot-on Whitney. I'm trying so hard not to curse!"
Their coach, meanwhile, describes the pair as "two different ninjas," noting that both performances stood out to her in different ways
"You don't deserve to go home, either one of you," Kelly tells the singers.
Watch both performances below and tune in Monday to see who wins the Knockout!
ET spoke with the season 23 coaches ahead of the premiere, who all shared how excited they were to be on the show for Blake's final season.
"I texted him," Kelly shared. "If he was gonna do a last season, I wanted to make sure I was there."
However, the talk show host insisted that she won't be letting nostalgia affect her competitive nature.
"If [Blake] wins, I am very happy for him, because that is super cool to win on the last season and he's literally the show, from its conception," she conceded. "But, like, I'm not, like, rooting for him to win. I'll be happy for him if he does, but I'm obviously trying to win myself."
The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. PT/ET and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. PT/ET on NBC.
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