While her first season on The Voice, Kelsea Ballerini seemed at home as she helped contestants master their performances. Hoping to win during her debut on the hit show, the country singer found herself getting a little emotional on Monday when she spent some rehearsal time with Angie Rey. Giving some advice to Rey when it came to her performance of Cody Johnson’s “Dirty Cheap”, Ballerini fought back tears as the song reminded her of her sick dog who happened to be her best friend.
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Giving Ballerini a glimpse of her performance, Rey struggled to get through the song as her coach started to get emotional. The specific line that brought on the tears was “And over there, under that wide oak tree / Beneath the cross is where my best buddy’s buried…Keep your money ’cause a man can’t leave his dog.” Seeing how upset her coach was getting, even Rey stopped singing for a moment, insisting she couldn’t continue with Ballerini breaking down.
Letting Rey know that it wasn’t her performance, Ballerini revealed, “I got emotional because my dog is super sick. But that is the thing about country music, is that it does talk about real life and the things that are hard to talk about.”
Even when Rey eventually took the stage, Ballerini once again teared up as she remembered her dog. After Rey hit the last note, the country star praised the contestant. “You were just so lovely. And I really appreciated you kind of reigning back a little bit and showing more of that storytelling side of your voice, ’cause that’s a big part of singing country music. I just think you’re amazing.”
Kelsea Ballerini Offered Update On Her Dog Dibs
Just last August, Ballerini shared the heartbreaking news that her dog, Dibs, suffered from “cancer in his heart.” Not giving up on him, the singer moved forward with his treatment, hoping to keep him healthy. During an update in November, Dibs was shown running around, simply enjoying life.
As for Rey, she found herself in the Knockout round against Iris Herrera. While Ballerini decided to go with Herrera, Michael Bublé quickly jumped in to save Rey and place her on his team.
Don’t miss a new episode of The Voice, airing Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
(Photo by Michael Buckner/Billboard via Getty Images)
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