Kelsea Ballerini, Angie Rey; Photos Courtesy NBC
Kelsea Ballerini had a successful start to her debut as an official The Voice coach during the Season 27 premiere on Monday, Feb. 3. As she slowly started to rack up members of her team, there was one audition that caused Ballerini to turn her chair almost instantly.
Twenty-five-year-old Florida native and Nashville resident, Angie Ray, stepped up to the center of the stage in her white mini dress and over-the-knee boots and delivered a soulful performance of Ballerini’s vulnerable tune, “Penthouse.” As soon as the first notes of the tender melody filled the speakers, the country star nearly jumped out of her seat in excitement and leaned over to fellow coach, Michael Bublé to say, “This is my song.”
“This is you?” Bublé replied.
Ballerini listened intently as Ray showed off her musical talent and ended up turning her chair midway through the first chorus. This caused Ray’s parents to jump in excitement as they watched the audition from side stage.
Angie Rey; Photo by: Christine Bartolucci/NBC
Another returning coach, Adam Levine, made note of the fact that Ray became audibly nervous upon Ballerini’s chair turn. However, she finished out the tune with power while the Tennessee native offered a prideful standing ovation in her cherry red jumpsuit.
She rushed up to hug the contestant and then proceeded to thank her for “singing my song.” Once back in her seat, Ballerini excitedly asked if she could give feedback first.
“I literally said before you came out, I was like, I have a good feeling about this,” Ballerini admitted, causing Ray to say “That is so scary. I was terrified.”
“That’s scary for me, because you’re hitting notes that I don’t hit in that song,” the east Tennessee native added. “Thank you so much for singing that song, I could tell you were nervous. It’s a nerve-wracking industry to get into, but when you beat it, it’s fine.”
Levine then weighed in on the audition, which he did not turn his chair for.
“You were nervous, but then Kelsea turned around and you fully lost it. You were so excited, and it was just meant to be, and I loved watching it.
Since Ray only received one chair turn, she didn’t have to choose which team to be a part of, but that didn’t seem to bother her as she explained that Ballerini would have been her first choice regardless.
“I love John, and I love Michael, and I love Adam, but they’re not Kelsey, you know what I mean?”
“And they’re not,” Ballerini said with confidence in her voice before asking, “Wow, man. Do you write songs?”
“I do, yeah. I’m a songwriter,” Ray responded.
“I can tell because of the way that you sang certain phrases in that song, and even how I recorded it is different than how I sing it live because it’s such an emotional story.”
Kelsea Ballerini; Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC
After this back-and-forth convo, Bublé suggested Ballerini go on stage and sing the song with her, to which she happily obliged. The pair of soaring vocals filled the room and further highlighted the depth of Ray’s vocal range.
Her mom then appeared on screen to thank Bublé for the idea that will forever be an incredible memory for their family.
In addition to Angie Ray, Ballerini also claimed contestants Dan Kiernan and Iris Herrera onto her team during the season 27 premiere. This marks the “Baggage” singer’s first season as a coach alongside Adam Levine, John Legend and Michael Bublé, who she sees as her “three new brothers.”
“There’s a level of warm and fuzzy we all have for each other. There’s never been a day, not once, that we’ve left set without texting the group chat to build each other up,” she told Byrdie while reflecting on her new role.
Ballerini previously appeared on the singing competition show as an advisor to Team Kelly (Clarkson) and briefly filled in for the superstar coach while she was out with an illness. These experienced led her to realize just how much she wanted to add coaching to her resume.
“I have a screenshot on my phone! I sent a text to my girlfriends, and I was like, ‘I really think I want this chair one day,’” she recalled.
Kelsea Ballerini; Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC
The songstress went on to say that her time on The Voice has been a “beautiful” experience so far and it has allowed her to achieve both personal and professional growth in a way she never has before.
“It’s been such a beautiful experience. I think it’s really sharpened me as an artist because as you’re giving advice, you’re also reminding yourself of the same thing,” she says. “As I was filming The Voice, I was also finishing the album. Then I was putting the album out, and I was actually doing the things I was giving advice about, so it was a refresher for me.”
Fans can watch the rest of Kelsea Ballerini’s journey unfold every Monday when The Voice airs at 8/7c on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.
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