During the second night of the season 23 premiere of The Voice, fans noticed “tension” between Niall Horan, 29, and Kelly Clarkson (who donned a sultry off-the-shoulder black dress for the show!), when he used his one and only block to steal a singer from the 40-year-old talk show host. It looks like Niall isn’t going to play nice as a coach on the music competition show.
Fans Can’t Get Enough Of The ‘Tension’ Between Niall Horan And Kelly Clarkson
A young singer Kala Banham, 24, hit the stage toward the end of Tuesday’s big show and sang a gorgeous rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.” Both Niall and Kelly marveled at her unique voice and soulful tone.
The former One Direction member used his one and only block right as Kelly slammed her button to turn her chair. Niall and Kelly turned their chairs at the same moment just as the word “BLOCKED” spelled out in bold letters on the ground in front of The Kelly Clarkson Show host (watch Kelly and Pink’s powerful performance of “What About Us” on the show!). Another judge, Chance the Rapper also turned his chair around to claim Kala. However, Blake Shelton didn’t, much to Kelly’s confusion. Blake is stepping down from The Voice after next season.
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A notably sad Kelly praised Kala’s voice and bemoaned, “We would have been beautiful together.” Kelly added, “I’m gonna steal you, mark my words. You will be wearing this [Team Kelly] jacket at some point in this contest, I promise you.”
Niall complimented the young singer and tried to convince her to join his team instead of Chance’s. But, Kelly couldn’t hide her frustrations with the Irish singer for stealing Kala from her. “I can’t stand you, Ireland,” she exclaimed. “Oh my god!”
“Kala, you get one block, and I chose to use it with you,” Niall told through Kelly’s harassment. “You are unbelievable. You’ve got such a storytelling voice, so sweet and so beautiful… I just want to go grab a guitar and write a song with you… I would love for you to be on the first-ever Team Niall.”
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When Kala explained that she attended performing arts school and preferred acapella, Kelly stormed over to Niall, playfully slapping him with her Team Kelly jacket. “Where’s my lawyer?!” Niall jokingly cried out.
Kala eventually chose Niall as her coach. “Team Niall is shaping up so well,” the “Slow Hands” singer said to The Voice cameras. “Kala is the best addition I could hope for.”
“I blocked Kelly because I knew she wanted Kala. And I let her hand get about this far about her red button. It was a perfectly timed block!” Niall added with a mischievous look.
This is Niall’s first time as a judge on the show. “I’m excited to be joining this season of The Voice as a Coach,” he said in a statement about joining the competition show. “I’m looking forward to meeting and mentoring the new crop of talent while we battle it out with the other teams!”
