Somewhere between releasing the deluxe version of her latest album Patterns and headlining her first-ever arena tour, Kelsea Ballerini also made her coaching debut on The Voice. The “Baggage” songstress, 31, joined veteran coaches Michael Bublé, John Legend, and Adam Levine for the singing reality competition show’s 27th season. Now we’re down to the Top 5, with Jaelen Johnston representing Team Ballerini in The Voice finale. During Tuesday’s (May 20) Part 2 Live Finale episode, Johnston had the opportunity to sing with his coach.
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Jaelen Johnston Sings Emotional Duet With Kelsea Ballerini
Tonight, Jaelen Johnston is going head-to-head with Jadyn Cree and Adam David of Team Bublé, Team Levine’s Lucia Flores-Wiseman, and Renzo of Team Legend for The Voice season 27 crown.
Before we learned the name of the winner, however, each artist had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform alongside their coach. Standing side-by-side onstage, Johnston and Ballerini gave a heartbreaking performance of “Whiskey Lullaby” by Alison Krauss and Brad Paisley.
“Moving as soon as it started & they were milking all the emotion, good/light/dark blend. This was captivating from beginning to end,” X/Twitter user Robert Anton wrote of the duet.
whiskey lullaby was MEANT for jaelen and kelsea OH MY GOD #thevoice #thevoicefinale @NBCTheVoice
— Margot 🖤⚡️🐍 (@Tayswiftie198) May 21, 2025
During last night’s Part 1 episode, Johnston first performed Dierks Bentley’s “What Was I Thinkin.’” Although he stumbled over the words at first, the 24-year-old Derby, Kansas cowboy managed to regain his footing.
Kelsea and Jaelen gave me chills omg #TheVoice
— Lexie (Daisy's Version) 🌼 (@lexiesdaisy) May 21, 2025
“I know you had a moment early on when you got nervous… but the way you recovered is all that matters,” Ballerini told her artist. “You really showed up, I’m so proud of you.”
Later, Johnston redeemed himself with a flawless performance of Chris Stapleton’s “Cold,” which had his coach “out of breath” and “sweating.”
“It’s a big song to take on… I didn’t know how good you were until you did that song,” said the four-time CMT Awards host.
[RELATED: 3 Quick Facts About ‘The Voice’ Finalist Jaelen Johnston]
Johnston Reacts To Onstage Gaffe: “The Worst Thing”
As stated above, Jaelen Johnston temporarily blanked on the lyrics to Dierks Bentley’s “What Was I Thinkin’” during his Monday (May 19) performance. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, the Team Ballerini member called it the lowest point of his journey so far.
“I think the worst thing is when you forget lyrics on stage,” he said. “It really is the worst side of it, to be honest.”
The best part? “Making connections and friends, and it’s been amazing. Everybody out here deserves to be here,” Johnston said. “They’re phenomenal, phenomenal artists, even better people.”
Featured image by Tyler Golden/NBC
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