‘The Voice’ Preview: Adam Calls a Team Kelly Battle the ‘Best’ He’s Ever Seen (VIDEO)

The March 16 episode of The Voice will feature the beginning of the Season 29 Battle Rounds. Coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Adam Levine will be putting their 10 team members into pairs who will perform duets, but the coaches will only be able to keep one artist from each pairing on their teams.

In TV Insider’s exclusive sneak peek of the upcoming episode, Clarkson’s artists Liv Ciara and Mikenley Brown go head-to-head with a performance of “Focus” by H.E.R.

“I am super stoked,” Clarkson says before the performance. “I really hated that I couldn’t be there for Battle rehearsals, but I got to see the video footage. [Jennifer Hudson] left these notes for me and things she had the team work on, and it was amazing intel. Nothing beats live music, so that’s what I’m excited about.”

Clarkson had to miss her team’s rehearsals following the death of her ex-husband, Brandon Blackstock, who is the father of her two children. The episode was filmed after Blackstock died in August 2025. Hudson, who served as a coach on The Voice in Seasons 13 and 15, stepped in to help the contestants rehearse in Clarkson’s absence.

All three coaches are blown away after Liv and Mikenley perform. “I was out here acting like y’all was on my team!” Legend gushes. “I was getting so excited. Y’all were silky smooth with those harmonies. Liv, I feel like your range is so impressive. That will give you a lot of advantages as you move forward. But Mikenley, your tone was so sultry.”

Legend tells Clarkson that he’d probably pick Liv as the winner because “with that range, there’s a lot of flexibility.” Levine also has high praise for the performance, telling the girls, “You guys were so good at playing off each other. If I’m your coach, that is a dream. That is not something that happens all the time. In my opinion, in the million seasons I’ve been on this show, that’s the best Battle Round I ever heard. I’m not kidding.”

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The decision all comes down to Clarkson, who lets Liv and Mikenley know that Hudson was a “big fan” of them in rehearsals. “I know her one note was that y’all blend so well, but sometimes it was hard to hear the individuality. I think you both nailed that today. It was the most respectful choices that both of you made equally. You elevated each other, instead of competing.”

Clarkson admits that it’s going to be a “really hard” decision for her. “I’m really bummed about having to pick one of you over the other right now,” she says. “There’s no reason or rhyme.”

Her decision will be revealed when the episode airs, but who do you think was the winner of the Battle? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Voice, Season 29, Mondays, 8/7c, NBC