John Legend tries to win back singer he knocked out in ‘best knockouts of all time’

A performance on “The Voice” Monday “will go down in history as one of the greatest knockouts of all time.”

That’s what coach Kelly Clarkson said after calling herself “so stupid” for pitting emotional singers Desz, 30, and Sid Kingsley, 37, against each other.

Desz took the house down with an energetic performance of Tevin Campbell’s “Can We Talk”, while Kingsley was equally impressive behind the piano on Foy Vance’s “Make it Rain”.

Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox every morning.

“You are two of my favorite artists to work with,” Clarkson said. “I’m so stupid to put you against each other. I can’t take it back. I really hope someone gets robbed.

Clarkson said her “warrior singer” Desz was the winner because, she says, “I’m always in awe when singers do things I can’t imagine doing.”

‘The voice’: John Legend calls country singer ‘boring’, Gwen Stefani steals it from fiancé Blake Shelton

Kingsley, however, is not leaving yet. After being knocked out in the Battle Rounds by John Legend, stolen by Clarkson and then knocked out by the former “American Idol” in the Knockouts, Kingsley was once again up for theft.

The caption pressed his button: “I’m sorry. I made a mistake and I know I made you suffer.… I would love to welcome you back to Team Legend.”

But Blake Shelton was ready to take Legend down. Shelton also pressed his steal button, calling Legend’s plea “pathetic” while pointing out his opponent’s previous breach of loyalty.

“You and I haven’t had a chance to form a relationship yet, but I can promise you I’ll never be the one to break (your trust). And I’m sorry for what John did to you.”

This time, Kingsley followed his mother’s advice. If you remember, during the blind auditions, Kingsley’s mother asked him to join the country superstar’s team.

“(My mom) said, ‘You better pick Blake,’ Kingsley said during the blinds. Shelton said with approval, “Don’t disappoint your mother on national television.”

On Monday, Kingsley said: “I’ve already disappointed my mom once by not choosing Blake, so I’m going to continue with Blake.”

Leave it to Shelton to rub it all over Legend’s face.

“I’m proud to have Sid on my team,” Shelton said. “I’m glad John pressed his button, because it gave me one last little moment of joy… to go against John and beat him hard with someone who was on his team.”

The legend felt “disappointed” but received little consolation: at least he’s not Shelton’s least favorite coach of all time. That “honor” belongs to mega mentor Usher, who served as a coach on seasons 4 and 6, winning the latter.

“Even though I think you’re a great artist and you’re going to be a great mentor, I still say you were one of the worst coaches we’ve ever had on the show,” Shelton told Usher.

The star hit back, “You know what, I was just saying the same thing about you.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: “ The Voice ”: John Legend tries to win back the singer he eliminated in the “ best knockouts of all time ”