Tonight we will watch the Final 3 duke it out on The Voice as we are only one day away from learning who wins the title. Shakira is just here to hang out and be supportive tonight since her only remaining contestant was eliminated last week, but hey...she looks amazing. The representatives from Team Usher, Team Blake and Team Adam will take on three songs each tonight: one encore chosen America, one new song chosen by the coaches, and a duet between the contestants and their coach. We have a packed two hours ahead of us, so let's get the ball rolling!
Artist: Christina Grimmie
Team: Adam
Song: "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus
Christina sang this song in the blind auditions, getting all four coaches to turn their chairs around for her. At this point, many "YouTube Sensations" have covered this song and I really like Christina's rendition. It isn't just a repeat of her audition and she's taking the stage tonight with something to prove...especially after receiving the Beyond Stupid Twitter Save last week. I'd say she's going to pull out all of the stops to secure a win tomorrow and I think this is a great start. You can also check out this version if you are interested in hearing a more stripped down cover. It makes me happy. Not Pharrell happy, but pretty darn close.
Coaches Say: Blake isn't surprised that America picked this song because of her ability to hit the big notes. Usher reminds Christina that he turned his chair around for her and he says she gave another great performance. Shakira thinks Christina's register is insane and she knocked the song out of the park. Adam says Christina did the song better today and he was totally taken away from the competition because she's just that good.
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Duet: Josh and Usher
Song: "Every Breath You Take" by The Police
Holy cloud overload, Batman!
Where’s the hot air balloon from Up?
Falkor from The Neverending Story?
Chicken Little? Those foggy things are crazy! But onto the duet….Usher and Josh
are definitely bros and the way their voices blend together is just heavenly.
Maybe this is why we have the clouds? Heaven on stage? Pretty close. I’m very
excited to see what Josh has in store for us later on in the episode.
---------------------------------Artist: Jake Worthington
Team: Blake
Song: "Don't Close Your Eyes" by Keith Whitley
This is Jake's song from the
blind auditions and it's one of those for real, grown up songs that really
shows how far this guy has come in the competition. Jake's vulnerable side
sometimes comes off as insecure, but in this performance he is retaining his
confidence and I’m really proud of him…not that it matters to him, but I’m
giving him an imaginary high five from my couch.
Coaches Say: Shakira thinks Jake has gained a lot of credibility over the course of the show which will help him as a country artist. Adam tells Jake "it's been fun to watch you man," which to me means "sucks that we won't ever see you again after tomorrow." Blake just looooves Jake, and really, as long as he has Blake in his corner I think Jake will feel like a winner.
---------------------------------Artist: Josh Kaufman
Team: Usher
Song: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder
Josh performed this song just
before Adam let him go and Usher swooped in for the steal. He follows up his
strong performance with Usher by giving a completely soulful, awesome rendition of this
song. Josh does stay pretty faithful to the original here, but he definitely adds
some emotional elements that take the classic tune from a great song to a
fantastic song. In my opinion, he is two for two.
Coaches Say: Before the coaches can weigh in at all, the
audience's stamp of approval has to die down. They clearly totally loved
the performance. Good for Josh. Shakira loved it too
and she compliments Josh on his charisma. And always the broken record, Adam tells Josh he
just twisted the knife in his wound by singing the song that caused him to
choose Delvin in the battle and temporarily eliminate Josh. Wellllll Adam, it
wasn't Josh's choice to sing this song tonight. That was all America. Perhaps the
voting audience thinks you were silly to choose Delvin as well. Just sayin'.
Usher takes this opportunity to kick that knife in even further by saying Josh
is "the new voice of The Voice." Ha!Duet: Christina and Adam
Song: "Somebody That I Used To Know" by Gotye
I do love this song and may have
been obsessed with the music video for a while…as well as SNL’s parody. Adam and Christina don’t really do anything different
with the song (clearly not one of those brilliant, risky, bending the laws of
reality TV, blowing the minds of viewers everywhere performances), but they do
sound great together and have really good chemistry.
Artist: Jake Worthington
Team: Blake
Song: "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx
I've heard this song covered many, many times and I don't think it's one I would pick for finale night. Don't get me wrong though - it's a great song, and I love Mr. Marx. I also adore Bonnie Tyler's version. She's holding out for a hero...Anyway, I just don't think the song choice allows Jake to shine at all, and this is definitely
not my favorite Jake performance. For me it's shaky at times, and unfortunately, I think the whole thing is a little boring.
Coaches Say: Shakira thinks Josh is good at "making songs new." I guess if she considers the country spin "newish," I can be okay with that. Blake has faith that Jake’s fans are going to come through for him because people are engaged in his performances. Blake tells Jake “I don’t think there’s ever been a more honest, sincere narrator or messenger of a lyric than you.” Awww.
Duet: Jake and Blake
Song: "Country Boy Can Survive" by Hank Williams Jr. ---------------------------------
Artist: Christina Grimme
Team: Adam
Song: "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Elvis Presley
This is going to be a very unpopular paragraph....but I call BS on this, and I'm not talking about Blake Shelton. Ummm, Team Adam, Jena Irene from American Idol called and she wants her cover back. Sure, Christina doesn't sing the song the exact same way, but seriously? If you're going to claim your show is better than the other one, AND claim that your contestants push the envelope with unique performances, this isn't the way to prove it. I appreciate that Christina mentions that she's wanted to sing this song all season, and she sings the song well, but I can't say that I enjoyed the performance. Take a look at Jena's version though and tell me if I'm crazy. I've watched these two performances several times each now.
Coaches Say: Blake admires Christina's willingness to take chances and do something different (here we go) and Usher thinks Christina and her arrangement were really great. Shakira says the performance was flawless and Adam agrees. He then says Blake and Usher's commentary was underwhelming. Groan. Adam closes his praising by saying that he believes Christina will win the show.
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Artist: Josh Kaufman
Team: Usher
Song: "Set Fire To The Rain" by Adele
Very interesting. When the performance starts, the stage is super dark with some candles surrounding Josh. He does not stay in the dark too long though, as the lights come up for him when he hits the chorus. At that point we see the orchestra on a platform...and they are eventually surrounded by flames. I have to wonder if anyone raised their hand during rehearsals and said "this is not in my contract." But as for Josh, I would say this is definitely a "finale closing" performance. He's reallllly into it and no one can argue that he didn't put all of his cards on the table tonight. I love it.
Coaches Say: Adam says Josh is super amazing and then we quickly have to move on to Usher because we are out of time. Usher thinks Josh changes the standard. He stands, pointing at Josh, and telling him he is the winner of this competition, much to the agreement of the screaming audience.
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And there you have it. Tomorrow the winner will be revealed and we will be able to take the summer off before the next season begins....and we barely remember who won this season. Most of me is really rooting for Josh because he's been so consistent, he's had a great night, and I'd like to see one of our rotating judges claim a victory. Christina, however, has probably been my favorite for a while so it's a tough call there. I've just grown a little tired of Adam's attitude this season and the way he's essentially been coronating himself and his contestants for weeks now. And Jake? He's cute isn't he? Who knows though...perhaps he will surprise us all and bring another win to Team Blake. We'll find out for sure during part 2 of the finale. Til then!
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