Ariana Grande's 'Voice' Team Reveals What Surprised Them Most About Her: 'How Big Her Heart Is'

"It was unexpected to meet someone of her celebrity status who is so real and kind," Voice contestant Holly Forbes told PEOPLE of her coach Ariana Grande

Ariana Grande's Voice team has a lot of love for their coach.

After the live shows on Monday night, the star's contestants opened up to PEOPLE about what surprised them most about her — and they couldn't stop raving.

"The most unexpected thing about Ariana, to me, is just how big her heart is," Holly Forbes said. "You know, she's always checking on us. We got the chance to meet some her close family members and friends, and she's so loving to everyone."

"People might have opinions on her, and I didn't know how she'd be as a person at first, but she's just incredible," Forbes added. "It was unexpected to meet someone of her celebrity status who is so real and kind."

Raquel Trinidad similarly said she was "pleasantly surprised about how ridiculously friendly Ariana is — to the point where we're getting texts from her."

"We talk to her like she's been a friend for years," Trinidad said. "I can text her and say, 'Hey, does this sound good?' She's so honest with us, and she'll tell us, 'We need to fix this.' I really did not expect to make such a lifelong friend."

Ariana Grande. Trae Patton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty

For Ryleigh Plank, she's learned from Grande, 28, to be "okay with imperfection."

"She's really opened my eyes to be less critical of myself," Plank said. "I love to explore and push the envelope, but sometimes when you do those things, you don't always get it perfect. But she's made such a wonderful environment for that exact thing. I am really grateful for that amount of realness that she's brought to the show."

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Sasha Allen, who is competing as a duo with his father Jim, said he "can't put into words the way she cares about us."

"It's all so comfortable with her," he said. "She's so incredibly caring about our vocal health, our song choices and our experiences in life. She's also so hilarious, and she's so much fun to be around. I think all of team Ariana can agree that we are so, so lucky that she turned for us and that we chose her, 'cause she's a phenomenal person."

As the last to share her thoughts on Grande, Bella DeNapoli said she couldn't agree more with what all of her fellow contestants had said.

"I think that we can all say that going into this season, it was so exciting and thrilling that Ariana was going to be a coach, and none of us expected her to be just like one us," she said. "So it's really awesome. Again, her heart, her hilarious humor and her belief in us as artists makes us really blessed and lucky."

This is Grande's first season of coaching The Voice alongside Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and John Legend.

The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.