Well here we are! Season 14 of The Voice will come to a close this week and we're looking at either Britton, Brynn, Kyla, or Spensha as the victor. Adam is just hanging out tonight as all of his artists have been eliminated, while the rest of our coaches sit in anticipation of what their contestants might accomplish this evening. The Final Four will sing 3 songs each: a cover song, an original song that would be their first single, and a duet with their coach. Who stands above the rest? Let's get to the performances...
Artist: Kyla Jade
Team: Blake
Song: "With a Little Help From My Friends" by The Beatles (but closer to Joe Cocker's version)
Coaches Say: Alicia stands and dances well before the performance ends and the other 3 coaches are on their feet when Kyla holds her last note. Kelly says the best part of the performance was the way Kyla included everyone behind her (great minds think alike!). Blake looks right at his contestant and says: "Kyla, if you don't win The Voice, I don't know why we call this show The Voice."
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Artist: Britton Buchanan
Team: Alicia
Song: "Where You Come From" (original song)
Britton penned his would be first single himself, so unlike other artists on these shows who have to do the best with what they've been given, Britton has the automatic connection to his original song. And by the way - it's a really good song. Sometimes the lyrics get lost in his lower register, but other than wanting to push Britton about an inch away from the microphone while he's singing, I really enjoy this performance. Well done, kid.
Coaches Say: All 4 coaches stand (it's going to be that kind of night) and Adam says he is Team Britton all day long. Alicia thinks this moment is so important because Britton wrote the song himself and he executed his own vision.
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Artist: Spensha Baker
Team: Blake
Song: "Merry Go 'Round" by Kacey Musgraves
After a stellar semi-finals performance show last week, Spensha hopes to continue reaching her peak tonight since her spot in the Final Four was a surprise to many people. Many. Especially Pryor and Jackie. Anyway, I can't say I'm totally behind this song choice. I get that Spensha wants to tell a story, but there are so many better stories in country music. Vocally, Spensha does a really good job here and the staging is gorgeous. She's also gorgeous. I might be in the minority, but I just don't think this performance was finale material.
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Artist: Kyla Jade
Team: Blake
Song: "The Last Tear" (original song)
You know how I mentioned some artists are at a disadvantage when we get to original song time? Kyla is not one of them. This tune is a wonderful match for Kyla and during the rehearsal package she tells us "The Last Tear" reminds her of what she has been learning about herself through this process. Unlike the opening of the show, Kyla scales back her vocals in this performance and still manages to bring down the house for the second time tonight. I personally like non-screamy Kyla better than "With a Little Help From My Friends" Kyla, but either way this woman is a freaking powerhouse.
Coaches Say: Only Blake and Alicia stand, and Kelly says Kyla is a songwriter's dream. Blake re-iterates that the show was designed for someone like Kyla. We get it buddy.
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Artist: Brynn Cartelli
Team: Kelly
Song: "Walk My Way" (original song)
Brynn's original song was written by Julia Michaels (love her) and it's incredibly catchy...to the point where it will be lodged in my brain tonight when I try to go to sleep. Some of the low notes get lost in the shuffle throughout the performance, but the song and artist are paired perfectly here. And can we talk about the fact that Kelly was standing and singing along during the whole performance? She's seriously going to be front and center at this kid's first concert. I need to figure out how to also get front and center tickets at that concert.... Anyway, please excuse me while I immediately go add this to my iTunes collection.
Coaches Say: Adam mentions Brynn's young age and tells her she is amazing and great every time she is on stage. Kelly stands again and says a whole bunch of stuff about Brynn, but mainly that she is incredible.
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Artist: Britton Buchanan
Team: Alicia
Song: "Good Lovin'" by The Young Rascals
Holy hell! Britton goes all out with showmanship in this performance and since we don't have Rayshun's "I'm everywhere at once giving you everything I've got!" style tonight, I do enjoy Britton's energy here. I think his vocals suffer at times from his enthusiastic stage travel, but dude is giving the performance of his life. I did NOT expect Britton to command the stage the way he's doing right now and I want someone to run up there and give him a high five...and maybe a doctor when the song is over. Great job.
Coaches Say: Of course everyone is on their feet! The crowd goes insane for a good minute and we go right to Alicia who is still standing. She says Britton is totally in his element and he set the whole place on fire.
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Artist: Spensha Baker
Team: Blake
Song: "Old Soul" (original song)
We're now 4 for 4 tonight on the original songs and thank goodness for that. "Old Soul" isn't as catchy as Brynn's tune, or as powerful as Kyla's, or as awesome at storytelling as Britton's, but for Spensha, I think the song is perfectly suited for her. She gets the country music vibe that she excels in (sometimes), she gets a melody and lyrics she seems very comfortable singing, and she gets to end the evening on an incredibly strong note. Again, I never called Spensha to be in the Final Four, but she's had two pretty great weeks in her attempt to win the competition.
Coaches Say: We go right to Blake who tells his contestant that she is ready to step off The Voice stage and onto stages like the Grand Ole Opry. Double oy...
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Artist: Brynn Cartelli
Team: Kelly
Song: "Skyfall" by Adele
Yesssssssssss! Normally I would let out a resounding "NOOOO!" when someone decides to cover Adele on these shows, but this particular Adele song is not so big that Brynn gets swallowed up in it. In fact, she does a hell of a job performing it. Brynn's rendition is almost vocal perfection (sorry - the actual perfection is going to be Adele every time) and I'm mesmerized by her performance from start to finish. The way she handles the range and tone of this song is well beyond her years and out of the many performances we've seen tonight, Brynn deserved the closing spot. But will this fantastic, kick-ass performance put her ahead of Kyla?
Coaches Say: Only the ladies seem to be standing, which is crazy to me, and we are almost out of time. Kelly says she is lucky to be coaching Brynn and she's just a cheerleader for the kid because Brynn makes all of her own choices.
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The coaches and artists duets tonight were mostly solid and entertaining, but not what I would consider a determining factor in who should win this thing. Brynn and Kelly harmonized beautifully in Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" and I swayed happily on my couch. Britton and Alicia kept the ballads going by doing a piano/acoustic guitar version of Avicii's "Wake Me Up." This was a lovely performance as well, but made all the more sad by Avicii's recent passing. Spensha and Blake attempted and for the most part succeeded at a fun performance with "Tell Me About It" by Tanya Tucker. I don't see a Spensha album including this kind of tune, but hey, she was smiling up a storm. Kyla and Blake rounded out the duets with a their rendition of Wynonna's "Only Love." It took Kyla and Blake a little while to decide who's going overboard and when and whether they should go overboard together, and really this just seemed like a Kyla performance that was accompanied by Blake...not that I'm complaining.
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