The Voice Finale Part 2: Should've Been A Cowboy

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!

The Voice Finale Part 1: The Dreams That You Dare To Dream

After 3 months of anticipation, we've reached finale week on The Voice. We are down to a Team Adam vs. Team Blake competition with Gwen and Pharrell just kind of hanging out and wondering what went wrong. Each of our four finalists will sing 3 times tonight -- one song picked by the coaches, one duet with the coaches (it's going to be an Adam heavy episode), and an original song that we hope sounds better than the majority of the American Idol victory songs. I'm looking at you, "Do I Make You Proud?" Ah memories....let's see if The Voice artists fare any better with their tunes. 

Artist: Damien

Song: "A Song For You" by Donny Hathaway

Well, nothing says "completely baring your soul while singing" quite like this song does. Adam chose a tune right in Damien's wheelhouse and he does not disappoint in this performance. His placement in the audience with arms waving around him is great and all, but the full orchestra on stage is the real bonus here. The musicians compliment the performance perfectly and Damien was able to give all of his emotions to the song.

Coaches Say: Blake says Damien floats through a melody with great pitch and power. I really love the way he describes things sometimes. Damien's performance took Pharrell to church, and I was secretly hoping Matt McAndrew would have jumped on stage at that moment with an encore of his Hozier performance from earlier in the season. That would have been a riot. Gwen thinks the song was amazing because it felt like a record Damien has already made. Adam tells Damien that this this was one of his best performances. 

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Artist: Craig Wayne Boyd

Song: "My Baby's Got a Smile on Her Face" (original song)

Blake has been carrying this song around in his back pocket for years, and he tells Craig the only reason he hasn't recorded it himself is "it's so freaking hard to sing." He believes Craig can make it a hit though and I can see why. He's so comfortable with the song he looks as though he's been performing it for years. Craig is confident in the best way possible and he sounds pretty damn good too. 

Coaches Say: Pharrell welcomes Craig to his future and all Gwen could think of during the performance was "I hope you have a really good nanny, because you're going to get that baby and go on tour for a long time." Blake has never been so nervous about a performance on this show, but he believes the song was meant for Craig and congratulates him. 

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Artist: Matt McAndrew

Song: "Wasted Love" (original song)

Adam thinks this song is a hybrid of all of the things Matt has done on the show already, and Matt is more than ready to make a statement and release his own single. I'm not sure that Matt needs the flames, fog and choir to sell this song to America, but I do think the tune suits him perfectly. It allows him to use both his softer side and his energetic "I'm going to belt like it's the last song I'll ever sing" side. Love it. 

Coaches Say: Pharrell says Matt's hometown of Philadelphia "couldn't have asked for a better leader and teacher to go out and sing these songs the way you do." Gwen completely got lost in the performance and it took her to a place where she was being creative and thinking about songwriting herself. Adam goes a little crazy with his comments. He says not only is this Matt's first song (in terms of singles anyway), "it's one of the best songs I've heard in my life." Whoa, whoa, whoa. He then tells Matt what a huge fan he is, saying "this kid is so special and he isn't even done winning yet." WHOA. Adam. Dude. You still have two other contestants in the competition. 

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Artist: Chris Jamison

Song: "Velvet" (original song)

Adam thinks this song combines Bruno Mars' style with Michael Jackson's. Oh my. That's a very tall order. I'll be honest - the pre-performance video package had me completely stoked for Chris to perform the song live, but the performance actually falls kind of short for me. Don't get me wrong...Chris' falsetto is on point as always, but the rest of the vocals are a bit shaky at times. I think the vibe of the song is exactly what Chris needs in his (potential) album though...but it's just not my cup of tea...even though I love the styles of both Bruno Mars and Michael Jackson. I'm probably entirely alone in my opinion. 

Coaches Say: Pharrell says a star was born on this television show this evening. He must be talking about one of the other finalists, right? Adam back tracks on his comments about Matt winning, but then gives no indication that he thinks Chris should win. He loves all of his contestants equally though. Adam, you're fooling no one.  

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Artist:  Craig Wayne Boyd

Song: "In Pictures" by Alabama

Craig pours his heard into this tear-jerker of a song and he sounds fantastic. I get that he had to do a ballad at some point tonight, but it was going to be pretty much impossible for him to top "The Old Rugged Cross" performance from last week. Still, I think this cowboy had a great night and I'm thrilled that he made it all the way to the end. 

Coaches Say: Gwen is emotional and says that Craig's voice is magic. She thinks that Craig's future is bright regardless of the outcome of the show. Well, let's hope so. Blake says the song was the perfect statement for Craig's life at the moment, and that's what country music is all about - making a statement. 

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Artist: Damien

Song: "Soldier" (original song)

Adam listened to 100 songs before choosing this one for Damien. Sigh. This sounds more like one of those American Idol victory tunes that the winner sings on the first tour and then never again. There are so very few of those songs with staying power. Damien gives a fine performance....the single just doesn't scream "I should win and this should top the charts!"

Coaches Say: We seem to be running out of time. Adam is bursting with pride for all three of his contestants and says Damien is thriving win or lose. So yeah, he doesn't think Damien should win either. 

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Artist: Chris Jamison

Song: "Cry Me a River" by Justin Timberlake

I guess this is what we've all been waiting for, right? The JT comparison has been made all season, so why not end Chris' time on The Voice with "Cry Me a River?" Well, I can't think of a better way for Chris to complete the competition. His rendition of this song is awesome. His vocals are 100% spot on, he's jamming out with the band, and he looks totally in his element. Well done. 

Coaches Say: Adam is standing in his chair and he says "Chris, my young Jedi, welcome and congratulations." I'm going to on on the assumption that we have 12 minutes left, and one commercial break and performance to go, so that's why Adam's critique was so meaningless. 

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Artist: Matt McAndrew

Song: "Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland

Matt closes the night with a song I never would have thought he'd sing on this show...or ever. That being said, this performance isn't earth shattering or life altering (at least not for the rest of us), but it is subtle and effective. Matt is sincere in his delivery of this 1939 song and I am absolutely sincere in my desire for Matt to win this season of The Voice. 

Coaches Say: Gwen says Matt is original and his voice just connects. Pharrell thinks it's magical to see Matt perform every week and Adam felt the universe paused for a second to hear something so pure and perfect. Again. Whoa. Tone it down please. 

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In terms of the duets, Chris and Adam delivered a smooth and sexy version of Robin Thicke's "Lost Without U," and Blake and Craig blew the roof off the joint with their cover of "Boots On" by Randy Houser. Matt and Adam give us a pleasant rendition of "Lost Stars," but Damien and Adam's duet was the best of the night (for me anyway). They sang Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" and their performance was both lovely and powerful. They also picked an amazing song to showcase their voices. 

And with that, the competition comes to an end. Tomorrow night one of these dudes will be crowned the winner....and I truly hope it's Matt. As much as Adam's boasting drives me crazy, I think Matt absolutely deserves the win with Craig right behind him. Can Damien or Chris pull off a huge surprise though?  Can we have some Gwen and Pharrell performance time to balance out the Adam duets from tonight? Is any of this going to matter when the next season of The Voice premieres in the beginning of 2015? Time will tell....

The Voice Semi-Finals Elimination: Easy Come, Easy Go.

We are only one week from the finale and in this elimination episode, three of the four finalists were revealed. All of the eliminated contestants performed for the wild card spot, and I could barely remember some of them when they took the stage. In the end...Craig, Matt and Chris moved onto the finals, leaving Damien and Taylor to sing for their lives with the rest of the discarded top 12. Here's what went down...

Team Blake's Reagan James performed a sassy "Put Your Records On" while Jessie Pitts went with a very tame (and kinda neat) version of "Zombie." 

Team Gwen was up next and Ryan Sill brought those puppy dog eyes to the stage to sing "Marry Me." Anita Antoinette far surpassed him with her badass rendition of "Waiting On the World to Change." Oh how I've missed her. I'm still bitter she was eliminated so early. And then there's Taylor... his "Wicked Game" was uneventful.

The only "eliminated" contestant from Team Adam was Damien, and he took on "Grenade" because we haven't heard enough Bruno Mars already this season. I didn't love his version at all.

And finally, Team Pharrell's eliminated contestants took the stage. Luke Wade sang an "eh" version of "Have a Little Faith in Me," but the two strongest performances of the hour were delivered by Sugar Jones and DaNica Shirey (honorable mention goes to Anita). Sugar's rendition of Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" was just fantastic. The vocals were right on point and she completely sold the story even though these performances were soooo short. Sugar really surprised me with this one and I loved it. DaNica sang the hell out of Mariah Carey's "Without You" and it was the perfect way to close the night. She's amazing. 

Despite all of my hopes, the contestant who made it to the finale was announced on the today show the following morning...and Damien won the spot. Team Adam stayed in tact for the duration, leaving Blake with one contestant and Usher and Gwen with nada. I really wish one of their artists had staged a comeback this week, but it wasn't meant to be. 

As we move into the last episodes of the season, it's all up to Craig to take another victory away from Team Adam. Can he win the whole thing? Is the competition Matt's to lose at this point? Do we think Damien and Chris stand a real chance at taking home the title? All will be revealed in the two part finale. Til then!