The Voice Finale Part 2: A Dream That I Can Call My Own

Well kids, it's safe to say I haven't gotten one thing right this season. After many, many weeks of pre-taped episodes and live performances, American Idol alum Sundance Head has won Season 11 of The Voice. Team Blake has brought home yet another victory and Adam has to be wondering what possibly could have gone wrong with his totally different, rare, unique, special, one of a kind contestants. This was a jam packed two hour finale, but here are the highlights:

Guest Stars

Stevie Wonder, Arianna Grande and the Top 12 performed "Faith" from the new movie Sing and I'm not ashamed to admit I look forward to seeing that movie. Singing pigs and elephants? I'm in. Sting also took the stage tonight to perform his song "I Can't Stop Thinking About You." Dude still looks and sounds SO good. I was hoping he would somehow bust into "Roxanne," and least for one verse, but it was not meant to be. The Weekend was in the house as well, singing "Starboy" and Bruno Mars just about tore the roof off the place with his crazy awesome performance of "24K Magic."

The (Sometimes) Dreaded Final Four Pairings

John Legend teamed up with Wé to perform his single "Love Me Now" and the kid held her own for sure. Josh was lucky enough to duet with Cam on her song "Burning House." I was pleasantly surprised by how lovely his voice was in this performance. They complemented each other well. Kiss continued their singing competition finale tour and sang a combo of "Detroit Rock City" and "Rock and Roll All Nite" with Sundance. Remember when they did the same thing with Adam Lambert and Caleb Johnson on American Idol? Coincidence? Probably. Sundance looked like he was having the time of his life, but I honestly would have loved to see Miley up there with Gene Simmons doing that tongue thing. The duet I was most excited about going into the night (naturally) was Billy and Kelly Clarkson. I thought the choice of singing "It's Quiet Uptown" from Hamilton was odd considering 1) This really shouldn't be a duet and 2) Billy kinda ruined it. Whatever though. I got to see KC tonight and that always makes me happy. 

The (Usually) Dreaded Bring Backs

Josh brought back Austin and Brendan to collaborate on Jason Aldean's "My Kind Of Party." The performance was all over the place but it was nice to see the guys have a good time. They jammed on their guitars and looked completely free of the pressure this show has put them under this season. Wé went with "Love Lockdown" and she brought back Aaron, Darby and Brendan. This seemed like a very strange combo but it mostly worked. Sundance brought back his fellow teammates Austin and Courtney to sing a kinda rousing rendition of "You Ain't Worth the Whiskey," but the best "bring back" of the night was Billy's very tall order of "Proud Mary." He brought back Ali (yay!), Christian, Courtney and Sa'Rayah. Dayyyum. That's a lot of huge voices on one stage but it was awesome. The ladies in particular were amazing. 

Results! Josh finished in fourth place and Wé came in third. Bummer. It came down to Billy and Sundance and when the little cowboy's name was called, his reaction brought me to tears...well, his reaction and his dad's in the audience. He sang "Darlin' Don't Go" as the confetti rained down and Season 11 came to an end. 

The Voice will return again in a few short months with Gwen Stefani back in the coaches' chair. Adam, Blake, and Alicia will join her as Miley takes a season off (she has signed on to coach again in Season 13). Until then, have a safe and happy holiday season and I'll look forward to catching up again in 2017!

The Voice Finale Part 1: One Roll For The Whole Shebang

Tonight the Final Four contestants have their last chance to win over America in their efforts to take home a victory in this season of The Voice. Miley is just chillin' tonight as her contestants have all been eliminated, while Blake and Alicia have one contestant left and Adam is sitting pretty with two. Each artist will perform 3 songs tonight - an original song, a cover song, and a duet with their coach. Who will set themselves apart from the rest? Let's get to the performances. 

Artist: Billy Gilman
Team: Adam

Song: "My Way" by Frank Sinatra

Billy opens up the show with an iconic song from an iconic artist and his voice is damn there perfect in this performance. In the rehearsal package he says this song makes him think about the journey he's taken in his career and he wants to make a statement with this tune. I still think Billy is more worried about notes and arm lifts and head nods than he is with song connection, but I do appreciate that he breaks down at the end. That last sentence is actually my favorite part of the performance because I feel like it's the only non-choreographed line in his "My Way" production. I don't want to knock on the guy too much though. He more than deserves to be in this finale. 

Coaches Say: Standing ovation from all four coaches. Miley is wearing a veil tonight and it's rocking my world. She says Billy just sang her favorite song and then gives a shout out to her team who also did things their way. This gives me a giggle. Adam says never before has a song matched up so beautifully with a contestant. "He means what he says - he did it his way."

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Artist: Josh Gallagher
Team: Adam

Song: "Pick Any Small Town" by Josh Gallagher

Josh wrote this song with the help of Season 10 contestant Nolan Neal and he's excited to debut it tonight. This is probably the most comfortable Josh has looked on stage all season, though vocally he definitely has his ups and downs throughout the performance. The tune is catchy enough and it was probably the right pick for Josh in terms of allowing him to choose his own original song, but it's not something I would hear on the radio and immediately want to download. 

Coaches Say: Blake tells Josh he wrote a cool song that he personally can relate to. Interesting. I think if Josh had been Blake's contestant we would have heard something like "you're gonna be such a big star in country music." Oh wait. Adam is going to go ahead and give us that undue praise, saying that when he watches Josh perform the song, he would believe Josh is a huge country song with 10 records. 

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Artist: Sundance Head
Team: Blake

Song: "Darlin' Don't Go" by Sundance Head

Sundance penned his original song as well, inspired by a fight he had with his wife at one point - my guess is she heard this and forgave him quickly. Sundance's performance is soulful and heartfelt and I believe every lyric coming out of his mouth. I know he wrote this song, but dude never has a problem connecting with tunes and telling a story. His vocals are amazeballs in this performance as well. Love this guy. 

Coaches Say: Standing ovation from everyone! Sundance's wife and children are in the audience freaking out and it's adorable. He has said several times throughout the season that his wife is his angel and I love seeing the big smile on Sundance's face when he talks about his family. We go directly to Blake for comments on the performance. The resident cowboy doesn't understand how Sundance had not been "discovered" before The Voice, so obviously we're going to ignore Sundance's stint on American Idol. I know he didn't make it far on that show, but Sundance was definitely previously introduced to reality TV conpetitions. Blake then stands and thanks Sundance's wife for almost leaving him. Ha! 

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Artist: Wé McDonald
Team: Alicia

Song: "Wishes" by Wé McDonald

Alicia asked one of her friends and fellow songwriters, Harold Lilly, to write a song for Wé and he came up with this tune about a young girl fighting to achieve her dreams. I think it's safe to say he hit the nail on the head with this song as it fits Wé's situation, her lower register, and her ability to tear the roof off a venue with her big voice. The kid gives everything in this performance and regardless of what happens tomorrow, I sure hope Alicia takes care of her. She's unbelievably talented. 

Coaches Say: Standing O again! Is this going to be a thing for every performance? Did they do that for Josh earlier and I missed it? Hope not. Alicia had been standing through most of the performance and she calls Wé  "the truth." She says Wé has unlimited potential and "I'm glad America is seeing what I'm seeing."

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Artist: Josh Gallagher
Team: Adam

Song: "Jack and Diane" by John Mellencamp

On paper this song would seem like a good pairing for Josh. Vocally he's totally on point and I'm thrilled for him. Adam has him doing the "walk back and forth through the audience" thing on either side of the stage which is a bit awkward. I'm also not 100% convinced the sound on his guitar has been turned on. The (not so much) icing on the cake though comes when he tries to start one of those cheesy arm waves. None of this feels natural and it's a shame - this could have been one hell of a performance. 

Coaches Say: Adam encourages the audience to keep cheering for Josh and then says his contestant sang the song so well. He thanks Josh for the performance and the journey. 

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Artist: Sundance Head
Team: Blake

Song: "At Last" by Etta James

Wow! I love, love, love Sundance's arrangement of this song and his vocals give me the chills from start to finish. At one point the camera cuts to Miley and she and I have the same expression on our faces - the "oh my god, listen to this guy!" mouth agape kind of look. Best of the night so far. Hands down. 

Coaches Say: Everyone stands well before Sundance has finished that last, amazing note. Blake is excited, happy, and proud to be part of Sundance's journey on the show. He mentions once again that Sundance was "undiscovered" and we're just going to roll with it at this point. 

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Artist: Billy Gilman
Team: Adam

Song: "Because of Me" by Billy Gilman

This song was originally intended for Maroon 5 but Adam thought it would be well suited for Billy. I can definitely see why Adam felt that way but I guess I was expecting Billy's original song, essentially what's expected to be his first single after he wins, to be a big showstopper. This is a catchy pop tune and Billy sings it well, but opening with "My Way" and closing with "Because of Me" was a bit anticlimactic. For his sake I wish the songs had been flipped. 

Coaches Say: I can't with Adam. I'm tired of hearing how his contestants are more unique than anyone and "no one else..." and "this is the first time..." BS.  Let's move on. 

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Artist: Wé McDonald
Team: Alicia

Song: "Don't Rain On My Parade" by Barbara Streisand

Yesssssss. I couldn't figure out why Sundance's performance was not the closer but now it makes sense. Wé takes on this "I am woman, hear me roar" anthem from Funny Girl and she SLAYS it. I have to watch it a few times because I keep forgetting to type as she goes. This girl is so young, but she navigates through this song with such confidence and grace, and she just warms my heart. Wé gave a finale closing performance here and I'm cheering loudly from my couch as the standing ovation begins for her. 

Coaches Say: Alicia just yells "woo!" for a bit and reminds us that Wé came on this show after several bullying experiences. She says that song shows everyyyyyybody that nothing can stop Wé. "You are the artist."

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Wé and Alicia kicked off the duets with a version of "Ave Maria" that was soulful and gorgeous. Billy and Adam then teamed up for a pleasant (and kind of strange) rendition of "Bye Bye Love." Their voices were awesome together on the chorus but the verses seemed a bit awkward. Billy sure as hell was enjoying himself though. Josh and Adam collaborated on a less than smooth version on "Smooth," and Sundance and Blake sang a very enthusiastic duet of Roy Head's "Treat Her Right." This was by far my favorite of the four. 

Tomorrow we find out who the confetti will smother and who will be the next "I hope this person actually does something" winner of The Voice. I'm definitely rooting for Wé and it wouldn't surprise me if it came down to her and Billy. But could Josh pull off the biggest upset ever on this show? Will Sundance be Team Blake's fifth victor? Can we open the Stupid Twitter Save to everyone and vote for Ali? While the latter is unlikely, here's hoping Team Alicia can pull out a win tomorrow. I've been so impressed by Alicia as a coach and Wé has been a breath of fresh air all season. We'll see if the rest of America feels the same way during part 2 of the finale tomorrow. Til then!

The Voice Semi-Finals Elimination: I Wish You Joy And Happiness

I.... What? How did this happen? How is one of our new, awesome coaches going into next week's finale with no contestant left in the competition? Tonight's The Voice elimination hour boggles my mind and leads me back to WHY THE HELL DOES TWITTER DECIDE FINALE SPOTS?!? Sigh. Here's a summary of the episode. 

There were some guest performances but let's just get to the results...The first person to make it through to the finale was Billy and he was quickly followed by Sundance. Okay. So far so good. Wé took the third spot and I was thrilled for her. The way hear family freaked out in the audience was awesome. At this point 3 of the 4 coaches had artists in the finale and Miley sat waiting patiently to learn the fate of her contestants. Ali, Josh, and Christian were the 3 contestants in the middle tier who had the opportunity to sing for the Stupid Twitter Save, sending Aaron and Brendan home. At this point I was thinking: "It's okay. It's going to come down to Christian and Ali and Ali is going to kill this performance." 

Christian performed a very raw, emotional version of "I Can't Make You Love Me" in his efforts to take that 4th finale spot, and if I wasn't such an Ali fan I would have rooted for this guy. It's impossible not to love Christian. Ali took the stage immediately after Christian and SLAYED "Sledgehammer." Killed it. I was throwing pillows around on the couch this was so damn good. Josh rounded out the performances with "I Drive Your Truck" and he did well. He really did. But this was not a "put me in the finale" performance. 

In the end though....JOSH won the Stupid Twitter Save and two far stronger and more deserving contestants were sent home. Granted, maybe Josh did have more votes (last night) than Christian and Ali, but we'll never know because a five minute social media window determined who will join the top vote getters in the final week of the competition. Oh, and this whole 8 contestants become 4 contestants thing is ridiculous. Why not take away some of the many hours of blind auditions, battles, knockouts, and playoffs and give the Top 12 a elimination format that makes sense? 

Next week you'll find me rooting for Wé as the season comes to an end. Here's hoping Alicia's ringer can pull off a victory and sing and cry in a confetti shower at the end of the results show. But is Billy's big voice destined to win the title? Will Sundance continue his upward path of strong performances and beat the competition? Can Josh really take home this trophy? One thing is for sure....Miley's finale outfits are going to be epic! We'll see how it all goes down in the two part showdown. Til then!