‘The Voice': Kelly Clarkson Calls Hailey Mia’s Kelsea Ballerini Cover ‘Flawless’ [Watch]
Country music was well-represented on The Voice during "Challenge Week,” which had the remaining hopefuls performing songs outside their genre. On Monday night (Nov. 29), Top 10 standout Hailey Mia was one of four singers to channel a country tune during the two-hour episode.
Mia, who represents Team Kelly and is the youngest singer in the competition, performed a version of Kelsea Ballerini’s "Peter Pan." Although she hasn't covered a country tune on the show up to this point, the song seemed to be a fitting choice for Mia — so much so that Kelly Clarkson even called it "flawless."
Up for the challenge, 14-year-old Mia appeared onstage in a sparkly blue dress adorned with huge ruffles. She gave the tune a rock edge with her natural pop vocals, but made sure to stick to the storytelling aspect of the song with her facial expressions. Near the end of her performance, Mia showcased her range, offering up a powerful belt on a high note, which earned her plenty of smiles from her coach and the rest of the judges.
“The thing to me that is the most phenomenal about your entire experience on this show is your growth and your trust in yourself,” Ariana Grande shared afterward. “When you first started, I felt like you had a lot of doubt and a lot of nerves. I felt like you questioned your own abilities a lot, and I don’t see a trace of that anymore. You’ve come into your own in such a gorgeous way. I’m so proud of you. You are phenomenal.”
“You are conquering so much right now more than any other contestant because you’ve got so much on your plate,” Clarkson added, referring to Mia still being in high school. “It all is very important. But it’s one of those things that are incredible. I wasn’t worried at all for you this week because, I think, with you being 14 is you love all these different genres, and you’re not afraid to conquer anything because you’re still developing all of the things you love to listen to. You did this song flawlessly!”
This isn’t the first time a singer performed a Ballerini hit on the show this season. During the Blind Auditions, Team Blake’s Lana Scott performed Ballerini’s “Hole in the Bottle” and earned a chair turn from Clarkson and Blake Shelton.
Fans will find out if Mia’s rendition of “Peter Pan” was enough to take her into the semi-finals when The Voice returns on Tuesday (Nov. 30) on NBC.