The talk show host teased Jayy after the 31-year-old singer was crowned the victor of season 29.

Kelly Clarkson tells The Voice: Battle of Champions winner Alexia Jayy not to cover her songs

The talk show host teased Jayy after the 31-year-old singer was crowned the victor of season 29.

By Leigh Blickley

April 22, 2026 11:11 a.m. ET

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Alexia Jayy and Kelly Clarkson on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show'. Credit:

Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty

- *The Voice* winner Alexia Jayy stopped by *The Kelly Clarkson Show *to discuss her triumphant run on the competition series and her new song, "Rent Free."

- Clarkson teased Jayy, telling her that she doesn't want her to cover her songs.

- Jayy kept her *Battle of Champions* win a secret after the show was pre-taped last summer.

Kelly Clarkson knows competition when she hears it.

The "Since U Been Gone" musician recently sat down with *The Voice: Battle of Champions* winner Alexia Jayy on *The Kelly Clarkson Show* to congratulate the 31-year-old singer on her new single, "Rent Free."

"Any song you sing is great," Clarkson told Jayy on Tuesday's episode, praising the track. "The song is great, but, like, you could sing anything."

Clarkson then teased, "Please don't cover my songs."

"I'm just kidding. I'm totally kidding," Clarkson added as the Irvington, Ala., native laughed. "I would love for you [to cover my songs]. You would tear them up. I love your voice so much."

Jayy continuously wowed the crowd and judges of season 29 with her soulful performances, but she had to keep her victory a secret for months because the latest season of *The Voice* — featuring Clarkson, Adam Levine, and John Legend as coaches — was recorded last summer.

"It was really, really hard for me and my mom to hold that secret because she is a proud mom and she wanted to scream it to the world, but she couldn't," Jayy recently told *Parade*. "I had to fuss at her numerous times, but she did a good job, and I'm proud of her."

"I just want to keep singing and keep getting on these stages," said Jayy, adding that she released her new single, "Rent Free," right after the show wrapped. "So we're just going to keep kicking out music and keep singing."

Alexia Jayy on 'The Voice' season 29.

Griffin Nagel/NBC via Getty

During *The Voice*'s blind auditions, Jayy delivered a standout performance of the classic Aretha Franklin ballad "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman," earning herself a three-chair turn. She selected Team Adam before winning the whole competition, which was voted on by an audience of superfans and past show winners and alums.

Jayy officially secured her crown with stirring renditions of LaBelle's "Lady Marmalade" and Adele's "One and Only."

Kelly Clarkson breaks down in tears as 'The Voice' brings back fan favorite performers: 'We're so lucky'

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Clarkson cried after Jayy's performance of Adele's song. "Wow! You're like a vessel," she declared. "Girl, that was so good! And you felt it."

The former *American idol* champion added that listening to Jayy was "the therapeutic release my heart needed" before jokingly reiterating that she should steer clear of covering her songs.

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Her coach Levine offered her the ultimate compliment. "You are important, man. You make people reflect on their own life," he told Jayy. "When you tap into that, you make the world feel a little bit more together and communal. That's really, really special. I've never experienced the feeling that we all just had together."

Legend, too, was "truly happy" that Jayy took the *Voice* crown, calling her "constantly stunning, beautiful, magical."

Jayy's new single, "Rent Free," is out now.

- The Voice Fandom

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