Things have already gotten a bit fiery on The Voice’s revamped 29th season, especially between Kelly Clarkson and John Legend, as they — along with Adam Levine — compete to win the show’s first season with an all-champion coaching panel. First, Legend turned Reba McEntire against her own former daughter-in-law, and then things got really interesting during a strong debate over song choice strategy. In fact, their “fight” actually changed my opinion on how important coach selection is.
Don’t get me wrong, obviously some artists are going to gel better with specific coaches — it’s the main reason I’m glad they’ve done away with Blocks — but for the most part I’ve always thought that singers would benefit from the mentorship, regardless of which of The Voice coaches they landed with. I’m not so sure anymore. On the second night of auditions (airing March 2 on the 2026 TV schedule), Mike Steele earned that coveted Triple Turn, and the mentors went about trying to recruit him to their team.
John Legend started by asking what artists the 28-year-old Mississippi singer liked to cover, likely already forming a plan of which GIVĒON, Tyrese and Jodeci songs he could get for his potential team member. Kelly Clarkson, however, was concocting a different strategy, as she said:
Article continues belowI grew up on all that music you just mentioned, too, but I think that would be a more predictable path to actually cover those artists. I think it would be really cool, like, I don’t even know if you like this artist, I heard you singing ‘Hello’ by Adele or even, like, Sam Smith.
John Legend clearly disagreed with this line of thinking, as he addressed the artist on stage:
It’s so interesting she brought up doing other genres, because what you’re trying to do here is win fans. And so it is cool to do a cover here and there that’s kind of outside of that but also establish your identity as an artist so people know what kind of album they’re going to expect from you.
Probably around this point, Adam Levine started attempting to remind Mike Steele that he also had turned his chair, and while he didn’t offer his own song choice strategy, he did offer him refuge from the drama, saying he hated it “when Mom and Dad fight.” But the debate continued:
- Kelly: I’m going to be honest with you. We’re so different, so everything he said, I would not do. So don’t choose me if that’s what you like. No, because here’s why. It’s because I went on a competition and sang Aretha Franklin almost every week, and then I made a pop-rock album. This is the time, I think, that you should stretch yourself a bit.
- John: But he’s doing it on national TV. This is his moment. This is his moment to tell people who he is.
- Kelly: I just think this is the moment that you are able to stretch and do things. So I don’t think you should pick me if that’s the route you want to go, because I am totally going to push you to pick things that are maybe outside of the box.
It got pretty intense, with Kelly Clarkson even reminding everyone that, hey, I won American Idol, remember? Thankfully, the tension didn’t last long, as they hugged it out and agreed they were done fighting.
Honestly I see both sides. I’m inclined to agree with John Legend, because if an artist only gets one or two weeks of national exposure, they can still start to grow a fanbase if they’ve more or less previewed the kind of album they’d want to make.
However, it’s also really hard to argue with somebody who not only has actually been through this process and achieved so much success in its aftermath, but also has taken more artists to The Voice finish line than her compatriots.
Either way, it’s really interesting to see how different coaches approach their artists’ journeys, and it proved just how important it is to choose the right coach. Mike Steele ended up going with John Legend, so he must have connected with the EGOT winner’s plan to take advantage of his moment. You can see Steele’s audition and the ensuing debate below:
Tune in to see how Mike Steele fares in the competition and which coach’s strategy pays off! The Voice Season 29 airs at 9 p.m. ET Mondays on NBC, streaming the next day with a Peacock subscription.
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