S08.E28: Live Finale, Part 2

[Tara Ariano]

Conclusion. The winning artist is revealed in the Season 8 finale.

[Valny]

Sawyer wins it all, I'm stunned!!!  Except I'm not. 

The kid knew he had it in the bag I think. He didn't seem too surprised.

 

 

Highlights: the bit with Adam with intercuts from Reba and Pharrell.  That was funny.

And the Blake skit of the parody of Whiplash. Whoop Ass.  :)

"Blake my name is Meghan not Regan." 

"I don't have time to learn names"... or something to that affect.

 

Glad Christina got to sing, she killed it.  She had that bottled up from not singing the other night and let it all out!  :)

 

Enjoyed Kelly Clarkson duets, I enjoyed the one with Koryn more than Meghan's....and also enjoyed Megan Trainor's song.

 

'Til next season of....This is The Voice!

Edited May 20, 2015 by Valny

[Nedsdag]

Sawyer won it the night of his blind audition.

 

He's like a basketball team that wins a game from the first basket until the end. He could have sang folk songs and nursery rhymes in several different languages and he still would've won. He even made the Cousin Itt look seem cool.

 

Let's hope Republic Records puts enough effort into making him the first true Voice star.

[theabsolution]

Did anyone call out each persons place way before Carson said it? Only me? OK.

Congrats to Sawyer though for real. Hopefully he can go on to do great things. :)

[Mya Stone]

My local news channel just said he's itching to get home to the farm to start to write music there because he "can record in NYC, since LA isn't really his scene." I love this - hopefully Republic works with him on it; he's still just a kid, after all.

[ChicksDigScars]

Wow. I. Am. So. Shocked.

 

Which is why I watched the OTHER show on the OTHER network live and came back to The Voice results after the fact. At least DWTS wasn't so blatantly choreographed, There was still a bit of suspense.

 

Shit, even second, third and fourth place wasn't really a surprise. You could tell that Meghan knew it, too. She watched Sawyer like she was waiting to see his reaction. 

 

The duet with John Fogarty did Sawyer NO favors. Man, he sounded flat in comparison. 

[kelnic86]

Sure the winner was predictable, but I'm happy with how the season ended. I'm so happy for Sawyer! He really did win it at his audition. It was when I, and apparently many others, became a fan. I'm also glad my other faves Joshua and Meghan rounded out the Top 3. Overall I say this was a good season. Some great talent and great performances.

[buckybruce]

Well, I called Meaghan to win it, but she just couldn't get past the Sawyer juggernaut (which I still don't understand). He has a unique voice, but his range is limited. and if doesn't write and perform his own music, I can't see him making it singing other peoples material. (he got drowned out singing with Fogerty)

 

Of all the artists, the one that most impressed me with her progress from the start to finish was Koryn. She just exuded confidence, and stage presence, and if she learns to take a bit of the edge off the growl to her voice (or at least not use it so much), she may just be a huge star by the time she's 20. 

 

Joshua...I really liked his original tune, but, then again, it just sounds too much like Springsteen or John Mellencamp....it might hit on AOR Rock or Easy Listening stations, but certainly not pop stations.

[Dots And Stripes]

 

And the Blake skit of the parody of Whiplash. Whoop Ass.  :)

"Blake my name is Meghan not Regan." 

"I don't have time to learn names"... or something to that affect.

 

This is pretty much me with 95% of the artists until we reach top 8 or so.

 

Congrats Sawyer! He seems like a sweet kid. He also looked absolutely tickled to be performing with John Fogerty. He's obviously talented too, even if I did get bored with him after a while. I think given his age and his artistry, he has a decent enough chance of breaking the Voice curse.

 

I remember back in the season of Tessanne/Jacquie/Will that Will's wife complained about his duet partner. I wonder if Meghan or Koryn will throw a fit about sharing Kelly. Then again, who could complain about sharing a stage with Kelly? She's the Queen of these singing competition shows and comes with talent and a great personality. Love her.

 

I always get a kick out of the artists coming back for the group performances. They're a lot of fun and the last chance a lot of these artists will have to be on such a monumental stage. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Possibly the least suspenseful reality competition finale ever. Meh.

Megan's Nashville connections will probably end up mattering more post-show than anything else. That and I think Pharrell feels more of a kinship w/ Mia Z than Sawyer actually.

Liked Joshua's bring back crew (and song) best. Always nice to see Kelly in these settings too.

[Ketzel]

Someone please fire the director. I thought the show was almost completely unwatchable. The cameras spinning around the stage actually made me queasy - and I have never in my life noticed the camera work on a TV show before. But all those long fast swooping zoom-ins, over and over, going from so far out you could barely tell there were singers on the stage to so close you could practically look up their nostrils was dizzying. Add on the OTT lighting effects and I wouldn't be surprised to hear the show actually induced seizures in some unwary viewers. The only benefit to watching most of the show with my eyes shut was I now feel completely confident in who on the show should be named The Voice. Christina Aguilera.

[jjjmoss]

If you look at the T2 of the 8 seasons so far, Team Blake is incredibly impressive.

He's had 8 T2 contestants.

Adam 3, Usher 2 (of 2 seasons), Pharrell 1 (of 2 seasons), Cee Lo 1 (of 4 seasons), Christina 1 (of 5 seasons), Gwen 0 (of 1 season), Shakira 0 (of 2 seasons)

[Village]

Shocking result! Very anticlimactic. I'm always curious to see where the finalists careers go from here. I have a hard time figuring out how Sawyer's going to do in the real world because he's not a charismatic performer. Can he make it in the music business? I don't know.

[ChicksDigScars]

Man, next season they're going to push HARD for a Christina win. Is she coaching in the fall, or is it Shakira or Gwen?

 

Kelly would be a fun coach. She'd be the anti-Christina. Positive comments all around!

[mercfan3]

Happy for Sawyer, and I hope Republic doesn't screw it up. 

 

Mia has a single and a music video? Hoping she's signed and this wasn't just a one time thing. (Although i don't know why they'd spend any money on her if it wasn't. I'm kind of more excited about that than anything. It also shows what kind of a person Pharrell is. That's amazing that he'd do that with/for her during the show. 

 

I think my favorite sketch was the one with Christina shading everyone. 

Edited May 20, 2015 by mercfan3

[Swedish Chef]

I like Sawyer and wish him well.  But I think the takeaway of the evening is how freaking amazing Kelly Clarkson is.  Good heavens, that lady can SING.  And although she is a lovely and supportive singing partner, she can't help but outshine those with whom she duets.

[buttersister]

*Yawn* Congrats, Sawyer, you seem like a nice young man with an interesting (abeit limited) voice. I don't recall you ever really emotionally connecting with a song, but good on you for not letting that get in your way. I think I'm still laughing because as the season rolled along, Pharrell wore fewer hats. That alone should have won you something.

[kj4ever]

I thought that even though the ending was quite predictable it was a decent night of music.  I enjoyed having Sarah back, and can't help but wonder if she had sang "Piece of My Heart" instead of "Freebird" that she might have stayed around a bit longer.

 

When Kelly sang two songs I was hoping they were going to announce that she was going to be a coach next season.  Christina's ear piercing over singing during the coach's song reminded me why I can't stand her and why she can't get enough support to go on tour.  They haven't announced the coaches for next season, have they?

[JeanneH]

My cable company had The Voice finale listed from 8-9 only. The other 2 hours were down as regular programming. I bet there are a bunch of people who rely on DVR that are royally peeved by this. After all, it was such a unforeseen, unpredictable result! (/sarcasm)

[MaryPatShelby]

This is pretty much me with 95% of the artists until we reach top 8 or so.

. 

This pretty much me with 95% of the artists from prior seasons! I'm always impressed by the commenters who can say "Joe Schmo was robbed in season 2 when he was eliminated in favor of Suzy Chapstick."  I can barely remember season 2, much less who battled or knocked out against who!

[kechara]

I was glad to see Sarah back.   I got bored though after that and took the dogs out instead.  I really didn't care who won. I would like to see some of the people get a career boost from this, but I'm not that investedduring or after the show any more.

[TheGreenKnight]

Boring finale week, but at least the results order was the way I wanted. Koryn dead last, Joshua next to the end. I remember someone, I believe it was Pharrell, saying Koryn went toe-to-toe with Kelly Clarkson and all I could say was *cough*BS*cough*. I noticed he kissed Christina on the cheek at the end. I believe I felt the same way she did, that Sawyer was the only one that deserved to be there. A few of the skits were funny and I enjoyed the judges' performance + seeing Kelly (who I'd love to be a coach on this show one day). I guess Gwen is back in the Fall?

[Biggie B]

When Koryn sang with Kelly, I wasn't looking at the TV when they started and I thought that a man and a woman were singing! I was surprised when I looked back up at the TV and saw it was Koryn. Hearing her voice with Kelly's really played up, for me, how low and rough it is, while Kelly's was crystal clear, smooth but powerful. Not that each singer shouldn't have his or her own distinctive sound but hearing Kelly's voice really highlighted how unpleasant I find Koryn's voice. YMMV, of course.

 

Otherwise - it was an OK show. Of course Sawyer was going to win, there was simply no question. Time will tell what will happen to him and whether he can create and sustain a viable music career. I wish him well - he seems to be a decent young man.

 

I believe Sarah will be coming to my town in August to perform and if so, I'm going to try to see her. She sure can entertain!

 

I didn't remember or recognize most of the top 20 singers and I watched quite faithfully all season! Out of sight, out of mind.

 

I hope Meghan can revive her career or at least parlay her connections to create a new and different career. I like her singing and feel I would enjoy a live performance from her for an hour or two - yup, I'd go see her perform.

 

I'm glad Josh got a new car that can accomodate all the stuff that goes along with young children. I wonder what will happen with him. He is so bland to me. Nice but bland.

 

Koryn, who knows. Maybe she'll carve out a gospel career?

[Kcat1971]

Most.predictable.finale.ever.

 

But My 8 year old was genuinely nervous for Sawyer then happy that he won.  So that moment was enjoyable for me.

 

My 8 year old also wants to know why "this Summer is going to hurt like a mother".  While I appreciate that the "radio edit" didn't make the fill in the blank obvious, it also didn't really make any sense.  I guess I'm getting old.  It leaves me wondering-- do they want the voice to be a "family" show?  If so maybe a song that has the Fword in the title and chorus repeatedly isn't really the right choice.  

 

See you all back here when they announce the Season 9 Panel!

[blueray]

That was predictable but I still enjoyed it. I liked most of the performances and it was great to see Kelly. I feel like she totally out sang Koryn who I still don't like her voice. I loved the clips of the judges. Though Adams was better last season with the musical "it's about me".  Blake's was funny.

[Primetimer]

The Voice crowns its (completely unsurprising) eighth champion.

Read the story

[tominboston]

Is it true that Sawyer has had that retro hat surgically attached to his head? Was he ever seen on camera without it? He seems like a decent kid who genuinely enjoyed the experience, he's a decent singer, and the girls love him, so I wish him well and hope that he doesn't get swallowed up by the corporate music weasels.

Koryn was my favorite of the final 4 because she too seems genuine and appreciative for the opportunity and I like her bluesy/gospel style and material. I see that the teeming millions of voters disagreed, but I'm glad for her that she can at least go on from here with a good foothold in a professional career.

[Princess Lucky]

This and the season Josh won were the only times I didn't bother watching the finale live. Or at all - I just read who won. Congrats to Sawyer but he's a polarising performer/vocalist and, while some adore him, I do not like him at all. Eh.

 

I do want to say that I agree regarding Koryn's progress, she really came to her own and she should be proud. I also agree that Joshua's song was pleasantly (and surprisingly) upbeat and fun; not really my thing musically but very solid.

 

Lastly, I'm glad Meghan came in second; she might have won on another season, but that wouldn't have made much of a difference post-Voice. I did love her original song, in fact I've been listening to it a little bit since Monday. That's definitely more to my taste, the lyrics are susprisingly resonant and I do love her voice. I don't know if she'll be able to do anything after the show if she sticks to non-country, but I'll be keeping an eye out for her.

[anonymiss]

I was definitely more interested in what Mia Z and Pharrell created than the suspense of who will be crowned The Voice. I like Pharrell reminding future contestants why you should go directly to the producer-coach.

 

Kelly also reminded everyone how awesome her voice is. 

 

Loved that Christina sang and that it was in her element of bluesy soul-singing. I was impressed with her rendition of that song when she was a child but it was such low video quality so this was a treat and made me happy I stuck it out till the end. And her impressions skit was amazingly shady. I wonder how much input she had (if at all) in the content! Her Cher impression was the best.

 

I really feel they should do away with the Idle practice of making the person who wins have to sing when announced the winner. Sawyer looked super awkward having to sing when he just wanted to celebrate with his family. It also feels totally disjointed for the audience to not get to hear from them at all after winning.

Edited May 20, 2015 by anonymiss

[Biggie B]

Is it true that Sawyer has had that retro hat surgically attached to his head? Was he ever seen on camera without it?

 

I think the only time we got to see him without his hat was when he went home last week (or whenever that was taped). We got to see him working a little on the family farm, and in one moment, he was hatless and had his hair pulled back in a pony tail. He looked great - not sure why he never appeared on the show without the hat - maybe a security blanket type of thing, more of a mental thing.

[basiltherat]

Sarah Potenza really showed up Meghan on their Janis duet.  Still wish she would have made it instead of Meghan.

 

If anything; Mia Z's singing is even more unintelliglble than when Reba called her out.  (She's called Mia Z because no one could understand when she said her last name!)  Just call her Mia Mumbles.

[divaTy]

I cringed whenever Mia opened her mouth.

[Cramps]

Throughout the season, I'd wondered if Megan had bonded with the other contestants--onstage it never seemed like she liked the others very much. Sure enough, for the first time ever, for the bring back performance, instead of bringing back four, five or six of her fellow contestants to sing with her, she only brought back one, Sarah.

Is Sarah the only friend Megan made? Was she the only one whose voice she liked? Did she not want to share the spotlight with more than one person? And/or perhaps did she also not want to sing with anyone who was younger or thinner than hersel? Call me paranoid, but no finalist has ever chosen just to bring back one person!!!

[pythia]

Seemed like Kelly Clarkson really showed up Koryn - she sang that song beautifully and had such clarity to her voice and then Koryn comes out and like grunts the same unpleasant sound over and over again. I actually think Koryn could become a decent singer but someone needs to teach her about singing notes and understanding the song.

I so missed Sarah Potenza. Wish the fix hadn't been in on having Megan vs. her.

[Nedsdag]

This pretty much me with 95% of the artists from prior seasons! I'm always impressed by the commenters who can say "Joe Schmo was robbed in season 2 when he was eliminated in favor of Suzy Chapstick."  I can barely remember season 2, much less who battled or knocked out against who!

This. I was on another music show blog regarding The Voice, and commenters were blurting out names of former contestants whom I barely remembered as well. Maybe it's me, but once a season ends my attention span regarding this show ends as well. There were some former singers that were slightly familiar, but others you would have thought that Rod Stewart and Nina Simone went home the way these commenters went on and on. I don't know if I should be impressed or embarrassed by these people. 

[Biggie B]

I cringed whenever Mia opened her mouth.

 

Perhaps if she'd opened her mouth more, we'd have understood her better.

[JusLaugh]

Where to start...let me just say that I thing this season was rigged from the beginning. They had some really good singers at the beginning and I had such high hopes. What they ended up with was:

Sawyer-he seems like a good kid, but he has little or no range and all of the songs that he sings sound the same regardless of Genre or beat. I did catch the emotion everyone was talking about in one song he sang, I guess.

Meagan-good singer, but her voice was too nasally for my liking and she seemed by her "home town" presentation to be a bit of a name-dropper.

Joshua-I'm not sure how good of a singer he is because his voice is so soft I could never hear it over the instruments.

Koryn-Her voice is strange and the song choices for her were mostly awkward. I think she was the most improved of the 4, though.

Don't get me wrong. All 4 are vey talented, but I didn't think any of them were that spectacular. It also kinda seems like they were pre-selected because they had the best chance of making a break-through post-voice. I find it hard to believe we viewers would vote them as the final 4 out o all of the great talent presented this year, although I cold just be in denial.

That being said, congratulations to Sawyer. I hope I am wrong and he becomes a superstar.

[Bronzedog]

Megan seemed so much older than the others. I was shocked when they said she's only 29. I love the song she wrote.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I'm SO happy that Sawyer won!

Where to start...let me just say that I thing this season was rigged from the beginning. They had some really good singers at the beginning and I had such high hopes. What they ended up with was:

Sawyer-he seems like a good kid, but he has little or no range and all of the songs that he sings sound the same regardless of Genre or beat. I did catch the emotion everyone was talking about in one song he sang, I guess.

Meagan-good singer, but her voice was too nasally for my liking and she seemed by her "home town" presentation to be a bit of a name-dropper.

Joshua-I'm not sure how good of a singer he is because his voice is so soft I could never hear it over the instruments.

Koryn-Her voice is strange and the song choices for her were mostly awkward. I think she was the most improved of the 4, though.

Don't get me wrong. All 4 are vey talented, but I didn't think any of them were that spectacular. It also kinda seems like they were pre-selected because they had the best chance of making a break-through post-voice. I find it hard to believe we viewers would vote them as the final 4 out o all of the great talent presented this year, although I cold just be in denial.

That being said, congratulations to Sawyer. I hope I am wrong and he becomes a superstar.

 

You bring up a good point in regards to Sawyer, but he has a good chance of being able to broaden and develop his voice and his talent.

[Bronzedog]

It would be hard to be more boring than Sawyer, unless, of course, you were Joshua.

[nextian]

So in all the post finale interviews I've read Sawyer emphatically says he doesn't want to live in L.A. and can't wait to go back to the farm. It makes me wonder if he's really going to want to pursue a music career or if he has decided it's not for him. Wonder if we'll get an actual star out of someone who doesn't seem to want to be one. It also makes me wonder why a young, shy kid decided to try out for The Voice in the first place? If your ultimate goal isn't to win, get the recording contract and try to start your music career, why try out in the first place? Curious.

[Noreaster]

Highlights of the episode for me were the coach group performance, Joshua's bring-back (liked everyone), and Meghan's duet with Sarah.  Also liked Tonya (but did not care for anyone else) in Koryn's bring-back. Surprisingly enjoyed Meghan Trainor with the ukulele.

 

Here's a Rolling Stones article with some snippets from Sawyer.  I wonder if anyone is going to bother to correct Sawyer about the origins of the Ray LaMontagne song:

"As far as I know, the song was written especially for me," Fredericks says of "Please," the original tune he performed on Part One of the finale. "I got a text from Ray and he sent me one of the songs that he just kind of played through. . . loose, and he really just sat down and recorded it and wanted me to hear it. I was the only one who was getting to hear him sing this song, and it was amazing."

 

This. I was on another music show blog regarding The Voice, and commenters were blurting out names of former contestants whom I barely remembered as well. Maybe it's me, but once a season ends my attention span regarding this show ends as well. There were some former singers that were slightly familiar, but others you would have thought that Rod Stewart and Nina Simone went home the way these commenters went on and on. I don't know if I should be impressed or embarrassed by these people. 

Why feel impressed or embarrassed that people might be somewhat knowledgeable about The Voice on a music show blog?

[rab01]

Until Meghan brought back only Sarah, I'd always assumed that the show just told the finalists who they were singing with. I'm honestly kinda surprised that they really get to choose.

I think doing a duet was a great idea. Bringing back a handful of people might "share the wealth" but it makes all the others seem like background singers. Doing a duet makes the former contestant look like a peer, which Sarah was and is. (I was more disappointed when Sarah left than when Kimberly left.)

[Steph619]

I'm happy that Sawyer won. He seems to know the type of artist that he wants to be and kudos to Pharrell for respecting that. The best of luck to Sawyer and I hope he succeeds.

The highlight for me was Kelly Clarkson. She has such a beautiful voice and I loved her duet with Koryn. The coaches' performance was great too.

[DeLurker]

I really enjoyed  Koryn and Meghan when they are not shrieky or turned up to 11.  I thought Koryn did a great job on the duet with Kelly Clarkson.

[Ketzel]

Here's the video Pharrell made with Mia Z, if anyone's interested. :)

 

About the coaches' tribute to BB King: I thought Adam played a strong blues solo on the guitar, but had nothing of the blues in his singing. Blake, to my surprise, really did sing the blues, although no one could touch Christina. Pharrell was a little embarrassing to watch. I think he was trying his best, but he knew he couldn't really pull it off and his muted, shy singing just didn't belong in that song.

Edited May 20, 2015 by Ketzel

[FormerMod-a1]

I wanted Pharrell or Christina to win, so I'm glad Sawyer won.  I'm a pollyanna and want the wins spread out more evenly, even though I really like Blake and think he and his finalists have deserved all the wins they got.  And I like Adam too and he has also won a couple of times, so even though his count is lower than Blake I still wanted another non-Blake or non-Adam winner.  Now I really want a woman coach to win - Christina, Gwen, Shakira (if she comes back), someone new...

 

That said, Sawyer never wowed me.  He just stands there limply not even really singing most of the words in the song, every now and then he sustains some words/notes in a way that could be considered singing.  And I'm not saying he needed to be jumping around or dancing or anything, he just never commanded my attention.  Some performers can stand in one spot saying and doing nothing and command attention, you are just drawn to them.  They have presence, they have charisma.  Sawyer does not, in fact I'd say he has anti-charisma as I'd always end up not just looking away but leaving and doing something else when he sang.  All that said, I used to kind of/sort of see what others liked in the tone of his voice... until he sang with John Fogerty last night.  Boy did that really highlight how bad a singer Sawyer is.  He sounded horrible next to JF.  (And it's not like I'm a huge JF fan or anything.  I'm not.  I don't have any of his music or CCR on my iPod or in my CD collection.)   All that said, he does seem like a nice kid so I hope he learns to sing well, with modulation and enunciation and on key and all that, and develops some stage presence and can make a living doing what he loves.

 

After the Sawyer/John Fogerty duet I switched channels and never switched back.  It sounds like all the celebrity duets did no favors for any finalist.  Not sure I'll bother watching what I missed.

[frogzapper]

I'm happy Sawyer won - I think he's very talented and seems like a nice kid, and I like his uniqueness, but yeah, I agree with those who thought his duet with John Fogarty did not show him at his best. It really drew attention to his lack of range, IMHO, which I hadn't really noticed so much up until their duet. I hope Sawyer can turn this win into a successful singing & songwriting career, if that's what he desires. I wonder what Christina said to him right after he won? She seemed genuinely affectionate towards him, which was nice to see.

 

I also enjoyed seeing Kelly Clarkson and I thought she out-shined her duet partners as well. I second the motion to have her on as a coach! She'd be a lot of fun, I think!

 

I thought MIa Z's vocals sounded kind of out of place during the group numbers - every time the lead switched to her, it was like someone had put a pillow over the speaker, argh!  However, I just watched the Mia Z video and thought she sounded pretty good on it. You could actually understand what she was singing, shock! ;) That said, I liked her style (except for the mumbling) and her super high range and wished she had lasted longer in the competition.

[Kromm]

Kid Stupid Hat won?

 

Sigh.

 

Not that it really matters to the show, but who's actually going to buy his music?

[AntiBeeSpray]

Kid Stupid Hat won?

 

Sigh.

 

Not that it really matters to the show, but who's actually going to buy his music?

 

Folk fans for one thing.

 

Glad that it's getting out there again.