Kelly Clarkson Is Missing From 'The Voice' — Is COVID to Blame?

Shortly after The Voice launched its “Where’s Kelly” campaign, viewers learned that Kelsea Ballerini would be keeping Kelly Clarkson’s seat warm in the Battle Rounds. 

Although Kelly was able to offer Kelsea advice via phone, the host revealed that a sudden illness was the cause of her recent absence on the show. Season 20 of The Voice was filmed in October of last year, so it’s safe to say that Kelly has probably recovered by now but fans want to what really happened. 

Did Kelly Clarkson have COVID? And when is she coming back to The Voice?

There is no indication that Kelly Clarkson was diagnosed with COVID-19 during Season 20 of The Voice. According to Kelly, she was just feeling under the weather — which is unfortunate, but thankfully, not life-threatening. 

In November, it was reported that staffers for The Kelly Clarkson Show tested positive for COVID-19 despite following strict protocols but it appears that Kelly was not exposed to the outbreak on set. 

Earlier last year, Kelly and her team chose to shut down production in the interest of safety and produced the remainder of the season remotely. 

She wrote on Instagram at the time, “As you may know, production on The Kelly Clarkson Show was temporarily shut down late last night ... out of concern and care for everyone’s safety ... For now, please keep your loved ones close, safe, and healthy."

During Kelly’s leave of absence, she is replaced by Kelsea Ballerini, who accepted her new role as team captain with gratitude. 

Kelsea wrote on Twitter, “When @kellyclarkson calls and asks you to keep her seat warm, you put all those years of being her super fan to work,” she wrote alongside a promo video. “Thank you @johnlegend @nickjonas and ole pops @blakeshelton 😂 for making me feel like part of the @nbcthevoice family. I’m forever #teamkelly...see y’all at the battle rounds!”

On social media, Kelly revealed that she has no doubt that her team is in great hands. She wrote, “Thank you so much @KelseaBallerini for sitting in for me while I was feeling under the weather! I know my team is in great hands with you!! Y'all aren't going to want to miss this!!”

Kelsea responded in the comments, “BIGGEST HONOR EVER and you know I got you.”

While fans believe that Kelsea is fully equipped to give Nick Jonas, Blake Shelton, and John Legend a run for their money, fans still want to know — when is Kelly Clarkson coming back to The Voice?

While showrunners haven’t confirmed Kelly’s return date, we anticipate that Kelly will be back on The Voice after the Battle Rounds are finished. Gold Derby reported that Kelly will return to reclaim her team in “several weeks”, which sounds about right because the Battle Rounds usually last anywhere from three to five episodes.

You can watch new episodes of The Voice on Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.