Cassadee Pope will return to NBC's The Voice next week as an advisor to Kelly Clarkson's team during the Knockout Round. With that comes plenty of old anxiety — or at least anxious memories for the 28-year-old.

Pope says the Knockouts, which pit two teammates against one another, was the most nerve-wracking part of her journey to winning Season 3 in 2012. Coach Blake Shelton all but admitted she didn't do great during her performance, but he saw the potential.

"I didn’t want to eat because I was nervous. I didn’t want to drink too much water because I didn’t want to have to go to the bathroom," Pope recalls. "It was a struggle, and that was my least favorite performance.”

Pope's season on The Voice introduced the Knockout Round, and while the process is solidified now, it's also different. Teammates get to watch each other rehearse, which Pope says is a little cruel. There's also great camaraderie. In fact, she says Team Kelly was all cheering for one another during her time filming episodes set to air April 2-3 and April 9.

Jordan Smith, Chris Blue and Chloe Kohanski are the other three Knockout Round advisors, with Kohanski joining Shelton (so no, he wasn't mad his former protege joined the pop-turned-country superstar).

“I’ve been a fan of Kelly's since the first audition on American Idol, so when I heard she wanted to bring me on the show, I was freaking out," Pope admits. The two kept in touch loosely over years (did you recall them singing "Catch My Breath" during the Season 3 finale? Because we didn't). The "Wasting All These Tears" hitmaker remembers one ACM Awards during which she was rushing back to her seat before the end of a commercial break when someone pulled her down to her lap. It was Clarkson.

“And I’m sitting on her lap during a segment of the ACMs. That was when I knew she was a down-to-earth, cool chick.”

Pope, who has new music coming on Friday (March 30), didn't necessarily dole out advice or tips on how to win The Voice. But she did share some of her experiences.

“I always say I know I was not the best singer on my season. I know that for a fact. But there is something that happens where you open up and you tell your story,” she says. “Like I opened up about a few family things on my season, and I wasn't planning on it, but I was just so vulnerable during that experience. I was just very emotional that I let a few things out and as soon as I did I realized people just want to relate."

After the Knockouts, Season 14 of NBC's singing competition show will be down to the Final 12. The spring season typically wraps in May.

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