‘The Voice’ judge Kelsea Ballerini just exposed a major BTS secret that no one saw coming
'The Voice' season 27 successfully conducted the 'Playoff' rounds on 5th May, and the selected artists will now compete with each other during the 'Live Sessions' from 12th May. It may seem like a seamless show for the audience while cheering for their favorite teams each week, but coach Kelsea Ballerini surprisingly revealed that they haven't filmed since 2024. “We’ve approached our final episode of the playoffs, which also means our last episode from filming last year, and next week we start the LIVE SHOWS for the semi-finals,” she confessed via a lengthy Instagram caption. The Grammy winner accompanied the gratitude post with a set of throwback behind-the-scenes pictures from the sets of the talent show.
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She continued, "This journey has been inspiring, fulfilling, fun, out of my comfort zone, and one of my favorite chapters. Thanks for watching and being a part of these incredible artists' journeys. Tune in tonight, and we’ll see you LIVE next week! (and maybe I’ll even bring my baggage)," she concluded. Entertainment Now reported that the playoff rounds were already taped in October and have been aired now. The NBC show had switched up the taping schedules since seasons 24 and 25, as reported by MJ's Big Blog. The blind auditions for both of the respective seasons were filmed in July, and the other rounds were taped during the summer.
OG coach John Legend shed light on the new process of filming while appearing on former coach Kelly Clarkson's talk show in February. While explaining the latest changes, he also revealed that Michael Bublé became the only coach to tape with his teams for both seasons 26 and 27 simultaneously. “The way we’re taping these days, we do two seasons per, like, summer and early fall,” the 'All of Me' hitmaker disclosed. He continued, “So even when you’re away, you’re really not away. So they were taping Season 26, and then I would go tape Season 27 the next week. Back to back, so Michael was doing both, but the rest of us were only doing one or the other.”
“So, Snoop and Michael and Reba and Gwen were doing the season prior,” he said of the season 26 coaches. “It’s crazy for the producers (to manage), but for me, it’s so fun to do the show," he added. Meanwhile, Ballerini did give major hints as to which artists from her team were already finalists. In her throwback post, the 'Cowboys Cry Too' hitmaker shared screenshots of text messages from one of her top team contestants preparing for the Live Shows, Iris Herrera. “Hope you’re feeling all the love today, that performance was so slay,” Ballerini confirmed with Herrera after the playoff rounds aired. The young artist affirmed that she had been spending time with her family while also prepping for the final rounds.
Herrera is widely touted as the 'comeback contestant' on 'The Voice'; she earlier failed during season 26 blind auditions despite a powerful rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s 'Gypsy.' During the season 27 auditions, she pulled a heart-tugging number, 'You Are My Sunshine,' with a jailhouse rock twist, which eventually saw her competing from Ballerini's team. “I didn’t, unfortunately, get any chairs. I wasn’t authentic and original to me. (Now) I’ve got a whole new vibe and a whole new song that’s specific to me,” she told NBC.