Winners and finalists from past seasons returned to the singing competition to fight for their former coaches.

Kelly Clarkson breaks down in tears as The Voice brings back fan-favorite performers: ‘We’re so lucky’

Winners and finalists from past seasons returned to the singing competition to fight for their former coaches.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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April 6, 2026 11:00 p.m. ET

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Kelly Clarkson on 'The Voice' season 29, episode 6. Credit:

Trae Patton/NBC

Coach Kelly Clarkson broke down in tears on Monday's episode of *The Voice**: Battle of the Champions* after being moved by alum Jake Hoot's performance of "Desperado" by the Eagles.

Hoot, who was the winner of the show's 17th season in 2019, returned for the show's special "In-Season All-Star Competition," in which the coaches bring back two fan-favorite competitors from previous seasons to battle head-to-head. Back on Clarkson's team, Hoot helped her immensely in the episode, as the coach with the most sing-off wins gets a second finalist in the finale.

Hoot's emotional song, which he had performed in the past, truly affected Clarkson this time, particularly the last word he sang: "late."

"I think you are not only one of the best country singers that's ever been on the show," Clarkson said, "but I also think you're a true gentleman, and that's rare. That part that you did at the end broke me, which is why I'm tearing up, That little falsetto, man, that move… it's not just a cool move to do, it's sincere. And it's why I love music, and it's why I love all these artists in this room. And we're so lucky."

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The "Since U Been Gone" singer — and the entire audience — sat silently as she collected herself.

"We're so lucky to get to do what we do," Clarkson said finally, after wiping her eyes and whispering an apology.

Hoot was competing against Javier Colón, from Adam Levine's team. Colón, who won the first season of the NBC series in 2011, repeated his performance of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time."

Clarkson, Levine, and fellow coach John Legend were impressed with the former up-and-comers who have obviously grown into professional musicians.

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The appearances by *Voice* alumni were a new segment of the competition, in which contestants returned to once again compete on behalf of their former coaches.

CeeLo Green, who's a Mega Mentor this season, served as the commissioner who decided the winner of each pairing.

After the Hoot and Colón showdown, Green applauded both contestants.

He noted that Colón had given the panel "an iconic moment."

John Legend, Adam Levine, and Kelly Clarkson on 'The Voice'.

Trae Patton/NBC

"You have an iconic voice, a timeless voice," Green said. "Then this charming cowboy comes out and he kills it. He kills it."

Everyone could tell what was going to happen.

Green chose Hoot as the winner, handing Clarkson not only the round, but the entire all-star competition within the show. The prize is that the host of *The Kelly Clarkson Show* is allowed to bring four contestants instead of three into the finals. Legend and Levine will each take three singers into the round.

*The Voice* airs Monday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

- The Voice Fandom

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