By Meredith B. Kile NBC
Performing on
The Voice is a heavy task for every contestant, but for Pia Renee, season 20 has been an intense emotional roller coaster.
The Chicago native returned for Knockout Rounds on Monday, but as she prepared for her powerful performance of What the World Needs Now is Love, she shared with coach John Legend and this season s Mega Mentor, Snoop Dogg, why the song was so meaningful to her. Shortly after we got here to prepare for Battles, my mother passed away, Pia revealed. My mother represented and embodied love, the singer told the cameras, growing emotional as she explained how sad she was not to be sharing her experience on
By Meredith B. Kile Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
The Voice season 20 is headed for the live shows!
Monday marks the first night of the Knockout Rounds, with Blake Shelton, John Legend, Nick Jonas and Kelly Clarkson making the tough decisions for one last time, whittling their teams down for the upcoming live performances, where America s vote will decide the finalists and the season 20 winner.
ET will be tracking the teams throughout the season, monitoring steals, saves and favorites as The Voice prepares to crown a new champion.
The season 20 contestants also have the help of their Mega Mentor: rap legend Snoop Dogg! ET spoke with Snoop ahead of his big reveal, and the legendary rapper shared how excited he was to help coach the teams and impart his own experiences on the up-and-coming stars. But, while he had thoughts on each of the season 20 coaches, Snoop wasn t playing favorites!
Team Legendâs performers had vastly different reasons for their song choices as Pia reveals her momâs recent death inspired her pick. Meanwhile, Ciana was ready for a change after sticking to ballads most of the time, so sheâs opting for Lizzoâs hit as an ode to her parents. Ultimately, Piaâs powerhouse Knockout performance was too strong for Ciana to contend with, forcing her out of the competition when John chooses Pia as the winner.
Dana Monique performs Ike and Tina Turnerâs âNutbush City Limitsâ & Keegan Ferrell sings The Temptationsâ âJust My Imagination (Running Away With Me)â
Kelly Clarkson cried as she listened to a contestant singing her song Already Gone on Monday s episode of The Voice.
Corey Ward, 34, from Hartsville, South Carolina, picked the tune for the first Knockouts round performance of season 20 because he related to its idea that life could be unpredictable.
Those words and Corey s impassioned performance had a devastating impact on Kelly, 38, who co-wrote the song with OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder.
Breakup song: Kelly Clarkson cried as she listened to a contestant singing her breakup song Already Gone on Monday s episode of The Voice When I wrote Already Gone, I was going through something that I thought, It s ok; it doesn t always have to work out , Kelly recalled. And hearing him sing that to me in my life now, are you like, smacking me in the face with my message?