Kelsea Ballerini Is Moved to Tears (Twice!) by The Voice Contestant Who Sings Cody Johnson's 'Dirt Cheap'

• Kelsea Ballerini was brought to tears on Monday's episode of The Voice
• Contestant Angie Rey got her emotional as the country star had just discovered dog Dibs' cancer diagnosis
• "Angie picked one of the best storytelling country songs I've heard in a long time, with a line about the favorite dog being buried, and it was hyper emotional timing for me," Ballerini later explained

Kelsea Ballerini isn't afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve.

During the Monday, March 31 episode of The Voice, the country star got emotional listening to her contestant Angie Rey sing Cody Johnson's "Dirt Cheap."

Ballerini, 31, was first brought to tears during rehearsals for the knockouts — and Rey paused halfway to give her coach a hug.

"I love this song, sorry guys," Ballerini said to the group, before revealing why she got emotional.

"I got emotional because my dog is super sick. But that is the thing about country music is it does talk about real life and the things that are hard to talk about," she said. (Her dog, Dibs, was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in his heart last August while The Voice was filming.)

The "Peter Pan" singer then offered her contestant some feedback on the performance, advising her not to "over push" in the chorus and "less is more."

"This song, there's going to be a lyric that gets every single person that's watching this. I mean, obviously it got me for a lot of reasons but I think it will get everyone," she said in a one-on-one.

Rey was up against Iris Herrera, who sang "Jolene" by Ray LaMontagne, for the knockout round. After the performance, the contestants shared a big embrace.

During the feedback portion, as soon as Ballerini got to Rey, she admitted she was "going to cry again on TV."

"You're so graceful in the way that you deal with things and you just cry, we all cry, that doesn't mean you're not graceful and you're a great coach," said Rey.

Ballerini responded with tears in her eyes, "You were just so lovely and I really appreciated you kind of reining back a little bit and showing more of that storytelling side of your voice cause that's a big part of singing country music. I just think you're amazing."

The "Love Is a Cowboy" singer also gave Herrera some feedback on her performance. "Iris, your voice is so unique and it's so pretty and lived in and beautiful and it's a storyteller voice," she said.

When host Carson Daly asked Ballerini to make a decision, she said "I hate this."

"I'm so inspired by both of you. The winner of this knockout is Iris," the "Baggage" singer said.

"I was very proud of both of them. Iris just feels further along in her vocal journey. Watching her get vulnerable, get emotional is the reason why I picked Iris and I already have some song ideas in my head for the playoffs so you gotta really lean in to that grit," she added.

Then, as Rey walked off the stage, coach Michael Bublé hit his steal button.

"I wanted her to be able to hug her coach before she came to win the show with her new coach," he the Canadian crooner, 49, said. "I stole Angie because she's a modern country artist. She fills that country void on my team and there's no ending to where this woman can go."

Ballerini posted to her Instagram Stories on Monday night to add some additional context. "There was sooo much cut out of this, but I just want to say this was the week Dibs my furbaby was diagnosed with heart cancer and we didn't know if it was days or weeks or anything more," she wrote.

"Angie picked one of the best storytelling country songs I've heard in a long time, with a line about the favorite dog being buried, and it was hyper emotional timing for me. I tried my best to show up on set and be present, but I wasn't able to be a good coach here. Angie really gave me the grace to be human, and was a friend to me in that moment. I can't say enough about not only the talent on this show, but the heart that you get to see to see onscreen, but also that is beyond.

Ballerini concluded, "Dibs is at home with my mom right now laughing that I ugly cried on TV about him as he's still, by the grace of God, living beautifully."

The next episode of The Voice airs on Monday, April 7 on NBC.