Kelly Clarkson was moved nearly to tears during rehearsals for the Semi-Finals on The Voice: Battle of Champions after hearing a well-known anthem turned into a soulful ballad.

Clarkson’s Artist Liv Ciara, the 16-year-old who used her rejection from Season 28 of The Voice to fuel her journey onto Season 29, chose a stripped-down cover of Irene Cara’s “What a Feeling,” after being exposed to the song by her mom, who was also in the rehearsal room.

The song is about an unabashed longing to dance and “feel the music,” something Ciara of course can relate to. It’s the theme from the ’80s movie Flashdance, which follows a young woman making her performance dreams come true. Also pretty relatable. Ciara put so much of herself into the song, Clarkson became overwhelmed with emotion hearing her sing it.

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Liv Ciara made her Coach Kelly Clarkson emotional during The Voice rehearsals

As Ciara rehearsed for her Semi-Finals performance, Clarkson observed how she used her experience of “getting turned away” to “really was fuel for her fire.” Once Ciara finished singing, Clarkson found herself fighting back tears. 

“I need a minute. I’m gonna be really honest with you, at first I was like, ‘This is a cheesy song.’ And you just got me … You’re so special,” Clarkson said, breathing deeply to center herself before standing up to hug Ciara.

Ciara has truly found a niche in deeply meaningful, empowering anthems; the week prior on The Voice, she covered her Coach’s own hit “Breakaway” and added moments that Clarkson said she’d “steal” for her upcoming Vegas residency.

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Liv Ciara gave a “super star performance” at The Voice Season 29 Semi-Finals

Getting kudos from her Coach was one thing, but Ciara’s task during the Semi-Finals was to connect with the audience, who would be voting Artists through to the next round of the competition. And she more than delivered. Letting the sound slowly build over the course of the song, Ciara took her talent to the next level and delivered “a super star performance,” in the words of Coach John Legend.

“I’m very sad right now. My sadness is that you’re not on my team,” admitted Coach Adam Levine. They didn’t cry, but both of the other Coaches were as blown away by Ciara as Clarkson had been, with Legend adding backstage, “I did not know until this day that she might win this show,” and Levine agreeing, “She slid into the front tonight.”

The audience concurred, and Ciara was one of the two Team Kelly Artists chosen to move forward to the next night’s Finale, giving her a one-in-four chance of becoming the next winner of The Voice!

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Don’t miss what happens next by watching The Voice: Battle of Champions Finale on Tuesday, April 14 at 9/8c on NBC and streaming the next day on Peacock.