Kelly Clarkson 'Can't Stop Crying' Over 'Voice' Contestant's Emotional Cover of 'Piece by Piece'
Kelly Clarkson can't get over this performance on The Voice.
Contestant Stephanie Rice blew the former American Idol winner away on the singing competition's season 12 premiere on Monday, with her stirring cover of Clarkson's ballad, "Piece by Piece."
Rice drew the attention of Voice coaches (and real-life couple) Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, both of whom hit their buttons almost immediately after she began singing. Though they didn't push their buttons, fellow coaches Adam Levine and Alicia Keys were also visibly affected by her performance.
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"Can't. Stop. Crying," Clarkson wrote on Twitter after Rice's performance. "Her vulnerability and her story ....just wow. Steph, I hope ur parents open their hearts 2 the beautiful person u r!"
Can't. Stop. Crying. 😳 Her vulnerability and her story ....just wow. Steph, I hope ur parents open their hearts 2 the beautiful person u r! https://t.co/p6FKPBnvKU
— Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) February 28, 2017
Clarkson's tweet referred to Rice's emotional story, which she bravely shared. According to the 27-year-old Texarkana, Texas, native, her parents -- her father is a pastor -- disowned her after she came out to them when she was 18 years old, forcing her to leave home and find a new one.
The American Idol winner wrote the song about her own family drama, penning the emotional ballad for her absentee father after becoming a mother herself.
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Following Rice's blind audition, Stefani could only muster one word: "Wow."
"I was really moved by you. I could feel whatever pain is in there," Stefani said. "There's music as an outlet for you. You can only sing like that if you've lived it. Sometimes on this show I get really emotional because I feel like I'm here for a reason, and right now I feel like I'm here to work with you."
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When Shelton inquired about why Rice was so deeply connected to Clarkson's song, Rice got choked up as she spoke about leaving her parents nearly a decade ago. "I've been taking that brokenness and the emotion, and I've been channeling it into the only form that I knew how which is through music," Rice shared.
"They're gonna realize that they missed out on some pretty important stuff. Maybe this will bring this around," Shelton said.
Ultimately, Rice picked Team Gwen! The singer later took to her Instagram account to thank viewers and fans for their support.
"I am so overwhelmed by all of your love and support that I am utterly speechless," she wrote. "There was a time in my life when I had zero self-worth and struggled to survive. If I could only express to you in words how much tonight helped heal a lot of wounds. I hope through sharing my story, someone out there who needed to hear it now knows they are not alone."
A post shared by Stephanie Rice (@stephaniericemusic) on Feb 27, 2017 at 8:07pm PST
The Voice continues Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
For more on this season of The Voice, watch the video below.
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