Kelly Clarkson Falls 'in Love' with Contestant During Premiere Episode of “The Voice”: 'What a Gift'

Daniela AvilaTue, February 24, 2026 at 9:35 PM UTC

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Kelly Clarkson was swept off her feet by Jonah Mayor's blind audition on The Voice

The 31-year-old from New York sang "Il Mondo"

Clarkson and Adam Levine battled it out to get Mayor on their teams

Kelly Clarkson is gushing over a contestant on The Voice.

During the Monday, Feb. 23 season premiere of The Voice: Battle of Champions, Jonah Mayor swept Clarkson off her feet — and she immediately declared he was her "favorite performance thus far."

"You are so incredible," Clarkson, 43, said to Mayor after his performance of Il Volo's "Il Mondo."

"What a gift. Oh my God. That was so sexy," she yelled out after giving him a hug.

Kelly Clarkson on 'The Voice'

Trae Patton/NBC

In addition to Clarkson, coach Adam Levine also turned his chair for the 31-year-old from New York — but he knew it would be tough to go up against Clarkson.

"Jonah, I think you’re super awesome and I think you and Kelly are going to do great things," the Maroon 5 frontman, 46, joked after evening the playing field with a hug of his own. "I think what you do is so singular, and there isn’t going to be anyone like you."

He added, “You absolutely are the complete package in terms of performer and singer. There’s so much power in your voice. There’s a lot of presence in you."

Though coach John Legend didn't turn his chair, he did call his performance "flawless" and complimented his charisma.

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"I was thoroughly impressed by what you did," he said.

Before he made his final decision, Clarkson chimed in one more time with an emotional plea — and compared him to Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli.

"You sang, I think, three syllables and I was like, 'Choose me, pick me, love me,'" she said. "I’m down for the ride... let's go to the finale."

Jonah Mayor on 'The Voice'

Griffin Nagel/NBC

When it was time for him to make his decision, he paused for a moment and ultimately went with the "Since U Been Gone" singer.

"I love you. I’m so in love with you,” said Clarkson. “I want to help you so much just so everyone can hear that beautiful gift in all the languages.”

In a confessional, she added, “I love Jonah. I do love people that can sing opera. I love people that just have those full-body voices, a nice glass of wine, a good red. This season, I’m really adamant about finding people in different genres and he is literally perfect for my team. I was so afraid I was going to lose him to Adam. I would have cried.”

The Voice airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”