Excitement has already been building around Ariana Grande’s decision to join The Voice as a judge this season. The producers of the show seem eager to spotlight Ariana’s position too, featuring her in quirky ads for the next season, and Ari herself seems to be having a ball as well. But her appearance on the show also means we’ll (hopefully) be getting some special performances from her, too. That kicked off pretty quickly when the first episode of the show premiered with a duet between Kelly Clarkson and Ari — with a little help from John Legend, too — performing nothing less than Aretha Franklin’s classic, “Respect.”
Check out a clip of the performance here:
— v (@ViralMaterial) September 18, 2021
As the season progresses, it will be interesting to see how Ari performs as a mentor, but her first chair turn of the season seemed pretty in line with how she performs as a vocalist. The contestant in question was performing “A Team” by Ed Sheeran, and though John Legend and Kelly Clarkson turned their chairs early on, Ari turned when she heard him do the kind of vocal trill that she’s become infamous for. The contestant’s final choice won’t be shown until the next episode this coming Monday, so let Ari and Kelly’s cover tide you over for now.