The Voice is having a reunion with past winners and finalists. Kelly Clarkson calls it a heartwarming experience to see past winners on the show “return home to The Voice family.”
The upcoming episode special will see Shelton and Clarkson reunite with season 17 champion, Jake Hoot, and season 19 finalist, Ian Flanigan for the competitive live performances.
Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson will be reunited with former contestants on The Voice next week for a live performance. Flanigan, who is now a musician in his own right, will perform with his former coach Blake Shelton on his song “Grow Up” featuring the one and only Blake Shelton on May 17. The song also happens to be Flanigan’s debut with label Reviver Records and features the vocals of his iconic country music mentor Blake Shelton.
The Voice Reunion: Blake Shelton and Flanigan to Perform Live on The Voice
Blake Shelton recently opened up about his admiration for the younger musician trying to forge his way in the musical world in an interview with PEOPLE. He called the rising musician a representation of what The Voice is all about.
“The name of the show is The Voice because of singers like Ian,” says Shelton. “He has such a unique voice and I always loved his song choices and you just can’t limit him to one genre. Can’t wait for y’all to see what we have in store!”
When Flanigan was on the show, he received similar praises from superstar coaches such as Usher and Gwen Stefani. Usher referred to him as a “top gun” while Gwen Stefani commented that “Nobody has a voice that sounds like that, it’s just so rare.”
While Flanigan exhibited great talent on the show and reached the third place, he later shared that he felt “humbled, blessed and grateful” for having the opportunity to be a part of The Voice.
Now, the country singer reveals that he is excited to go back to The Voice stage and perform with Shelton, even as he continues to pave his own way in the music industry.
“I am beyond grateful for any opportunity to share the stage with Blake again,” says Flanigan. “He’s been such a huge part of my growth and this process, I can’t thank him enough. It’s also an honor to be invited back to The Voice, feels great to return to perform my own music.”
The Voice Reunion: Kelly Clarkson and Jake Hoot to Perform Live On The Voice
Another The Voice family reunion coming up will be the “Stronger” singer, Kelly Clarkson, with her former mentee Jake Hoot who won the season 17 round of The Voice.
Like the first duo, Clarkson and her former student have also collaborated on a song together and will be performing it live on stage on May 18.
Hoot will be performing live with his former mentor Clarkson with whom he collaborated with on the moving duet “I Would’ve Loved You.” As for getting to feature Clarkson on his song and later getting the opportunity to perform it live on stage with her, Hoot revealed that he feels so happy that Kelly Clarkson gave him the space to shine.
“It’s so surreal that I get to not only sing on that stage again, I also get to sing with my coach, Kelly Clarkson, and we get to perform a song that I helped write,” says Hoot. “I’ve got all the jitters and nerves from when I was there last, and I’m not even a contestant anymore! So pumped to be back, and I can’t thank The Voice and Kelly enough for giving me this opportunity!”
Upon the release of Hoot and Clarkson’s collaborative single, it topped the iTunes all-genre chart and has since racked up almost 2 million streams and more than 7 million views. The song also appears on Hoot’s debut project Love Out of Time, which features songwriters and musicians including Dean Sams, Danny Myrick, and more.
As for Clarkson, she’s excited to get to perform a duet with her former mentee on The Voice stage and is happy to see him and Flanigan appear on The Voice stage again.
“There is something so heartwarming about seeing these winners return home to The Voice family,” Clarkson tells PEOPLE.”I cannot wait to reunite with Jake next week.”
The remaining nine contestants in this round of The Voice will be revealed on Tuesday when it airs at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.