'The Voice': Kelly Clarkson Regrets Not Blocking Niall Horan on a Harry Styles Song

etonline.com:

coaches wanted Laura Littleton on their team — but only Niall Horan had a personal connection that may have given him an edge!The Tennessee native took the stage during Monday's Blind Auditions, wowing all the coaches with her folksy, acoustic cover of Harry Styles' «Sign of the Times.» Kelly Clarkson turned just ahead of Blake Shelton and used her block on the country star -- before realizing her mistake.«I should have blocked Niall!» she said as an aside to the audience as they made their pitches, noting the former One Direction singer might have some leverage with Laura.«I know him!» Niall joked of Harry before making his true pitch to the singer."'Sign of the Times,' when it came out, it wasn't your obvious pop song," he explained. «It was a bit alt, off to the left a bit, and that's what you scream.

There's so many different artists, so many different genres I could hear you sing.»Ultimately, whether it was his pitch or his connection to Harry, Niall had Laura convinced and she made the decision to join his team.

Check out the full audition below:ET spoke with the season 23 coaches ahead of the premiere, who all shared how excited they were to be on the show for The Cowboy's last go-round.«I texted him,» Kelly shared. «If he was gonna do a last season, I wanted to make sure I was there.»However, the talk show host insisted that she won't be letting nostalgia affect her competitive nature.«If [Blake] wins, I am very happy for him, because that is super cool to win on the last season and he's literally the show, from its conception,» she conceded. «But, like, I'm not, like, rooting for him to win.