The Voice is coming down to the wire, with the final four contestants performing Monday night (Dec. 16) for their last chances at votes. Each singer got a chance to sing a cover song, an original song, and a duet with his/her coach. We'll find out who is crowned the winner on Dec. 17!

Kelly Clarkson's country boy Jake Hoot decided to open up his soul to the audience with his original song, a co-write titled "Better Off Without You." When Clarkson asked him to explain what the song was about, Hoot noted, "Going through a divorce, that was my lowest point. I was sitting there one night. I thought of the lyric 'I can see the thunder and hear the dark.'"

Clarkson enthusiastically termed the song "so rad," adding that it is "radio ready" and "so beautiful." She added, "It's hard to impress me nowadays ... everything sounds different in country music. It sounded contemporary but paying homage to what country music stands for."

Hoot then took the stage with the song, a driving rocker with a bluesy, melancholy feel, describing just how his bleak his emotions were upon his marriage's demise and the realization of how much toll his ex took on his self-esteem. "It's plain to see I'm better off without you/ Strange to think how much I've allowed you / Make me feel like I was in the wrong / And you had the right to turn my world around / But that's all right / I'm better off without you."

Coach Gwen Stefani had glowing words for the composition. "Jake, that was really great I think it's exciting to hear an original song and get to know you even more through your story through your song," she said. "My favorite thing about your voice is the power you have in there. My favorite thing that's happened through the show is watching you get so relaxed on stage and really enjoying it and owning it. At first it was like you were a little bit timid — now I can see you're embodying the whole experience!"

Clarkson added, "A great writer always pulls from their own life experience although it's a hard thing. That hurdle was put there for you to get through, but other people to connect that message. That's the power of being a writer as well as a singer, I love you got to showcase that."

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