The wait is over! While Team Adam dominated all season...the title ultimately went to Craig Wayne Boyd from Team Blake. My initial reaction was "What the hell?!?! What about Maaaaatttt!?!?" My second reaction was "No seriously, Matt didn't win?" But if it wasn't going to be Matt, it should have been Craig. The country crooner with the perfect hair and the amazing voice was consistent all season and he really did develop quite a fan base on his journey. I can't say the the sting from Matt's loss won't linger for a while. However, here are some of the highlights from the 2 hour finale...
Of course we were treated (?) to the normal "bring back contestants who were eliminated to have one last performance on TV" segment. Craig invited DaNica (thaaaank you), Sugar and Taylor Brashears to join him for "Keep Your Hands To Yourself," and it was sassy and wonderful. Chris brought back Luke, Ryan, Ricky, and Taylor Phelan to take on "Dedication To My Ex," which seemed to go on for a long time, but the song still had a pretty cool vibe. Matt chose Taylor John Williams, Taylor Phelan, Mia, Sugar, and to sing "Go Your Own Way," which was definitely rough at times. Finally, Damien invited Anita, Elijah and DaNica back to unleash one hell of a performance with "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
As always, the final four had the chance to sing with some big stars as well. Matt joined Fall Out Boy for "Centuries" and....it was weird. The dudes from the band didn't really interact with Matt at all. It was like he was a little boy on the side of the stage trying to get their attention. "Hey! I know the words! Pick me!" Bummer. Craig sang "Sweet Home Alabama" with Lynyrd Skynyrd...because no one on reality TV has done that since Bo Bice. Wonder what he's up to. Speaking of American Idol, Jennifer Hudson was in the house tonight to sing "It's Your World" with Damien. She looked AMAZING and she can really sing anything she wants and I'd be totally excited about it. Chris rounded out the duets with Jessie J, singing "Masterpiece." I think theirs was definitely the best match up.
We also had some guest performers tonight who were too cool to sing with the contestants, which is just fine. Hozier was there to take Pharrell (and the rest of us) to church, and Bruno Mars donned golden curlers (you read that right) to sing "Uptown Funk." I melted when Ed Sheeran sang "Thinking Out Loud," and I'm ready to declare that I freaking love Meghan Trainor. It's almost impossible not to shake a tail feather to "Lips Are Movin.'" I was borderline obsessed with "All About That Bass" and I will probably wear down my iPod battery with this song on repeat as well. I also loved watching the coaches react to her performance...couldn't quite see Adam, but Gwen and Pharrell had huge smiles on their faces and Blake had his head bopping down to a science.
Results! Damien finished fourth and Chris finished third, leaving the suspense between Craig and Matt. Ultimately Craig won with less than 3 minutes left in the show. He tearfully hugged his fellow competitors and sang his new single as the confetti rained down.
And with that, the season is over. I have to wonder if Team Adam fans split their votes between his 3 contestants or if Team Blake fans were just done with Adam's over the top praise and confidence with his team. The performances speak for themselves. No need to shove a finalist down our throats...especially if that contestant is already the front runner! Regardless of why the competition played out the way it did, best of luck to Craig in his next chapter. For his sake I hope we still hear his name long after the end of The Voice 2015. I'll be on the lookout for that premiere (which I'm sure is right around the corner). Til then...have a safe and happy holiday season!
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