S11.E25: Live Final Performances

[Noreaster]

The final four perform.  

[Quickbeam]

I thought that the Ave Maria was dreadful. 

[RandomWatcher]

Even though I've been watching The Voice all season, tonight I finally realized why Billy Gilman sounded familiar. He used to sing country

[adhoc]

I came in in time for Ave Maria. Ai-ai-ai! I don't know who was worse, We or Alicia Keys.

Bye Bye Love - Is Adam sick? Sore throat maybe? In fact, I wonder if a lot of them were sick, I heard some bad performances tonight. (Though I turned it off at about 8:30.)

Edited December 13, 2016 by adhoc

[Diana Berry]

Is it fair to say Sundance will probably win?  Although I listened ( did not watch) billy's original and liked it.  

[Noreaster]

Kind of an underwhelming night.  There were some good vocal performances but none were to my tastes.  Musical theater, 50s, 60s, a Maroon 5 song...  

I thought We was the worst overall of the night.  Her last song was well done, but the other two were pretty bad.   

Billy and Sundance were solid all around.  I'm just not that interested in their music.  

Josh actually seems the most marketable to me.  He sang the most current songs (relatively...his songs were from the 80s and 90s, I think).  And he wasn't even really country tonight except for his original which I didn't really like.  

[Dots And Stripes]

Our first season with two female coaches and we end up with such a dude heavy finale. Sigh.

Billy's best number was his first. Josh's too, although the small town he sings about looks nothing like my small town. I was never going to be his target audience anyway. Sundance, I think, had the most consistently strong night. We finished with her best. 

I always like the songs Adam picks for his duets but I always hate his singing.

[Court]

I think either Sundance or Billy will win. During Billy's duet with Adam was the first time I saw him having some fun. I think that's my issue. He doesn't seem to enjoy being up there or connect with his songs. I do think Broadway  musicals are the place for him. However, I really enjoyed him tonight.

Josh: duet was awful, so was Jack and Diane. His song was fine but I wanted to hear it by someone else. He's so generic and bland. 

We: I did like her original song but that was it. Other two were so bad.

Sundance: I liked it. I don't know if his duet with Blake was any good but they were both having so much fun it didn't matter to me. I enjoyed it.

I wish we had got to see Miley up there with Ali. Would have loved to see what they came up with.

[nextian]

I've truly had no favorites all season, it's been a pretty blah season for me. If I'm basing my vote on tonight then Sundance would win hands down. Josh is so incredibly non descript  and boring that I have no idea how he made the final, and I'm saying that as a country fan. We I thought had a great voice at the beginning of the season, but the last few weeks have been rough, and song choice was not her friend tonight. I have never once felt a connection between Billy and a song he sang, and tonight was no exception. Sundance I have found consistently excellent all season, even if I haven't always loved his song choices, in my mind he won tonight. And his duet with Blake tonight was so much fun, and singing his dad's song with his dad crying in the audience!? Sorry, I'm a sucker, but that got me.

[Dots And Stripes]

Assuming Sundance charting twice is some sort of error with the site reporting the data. Anyway, this is pretty good for Sundance and Billy.
2    Sundance Head    Darlin’ Don’t Go (The Voice Performance)   
3    Josh Gallagher    Pick Any Small Town (The Voice Performance)    
4    Billy Gilman    My Way (The Voice Performance)    
6    Sundance Head    At Last (The Voice Performance)   
12    Billy Gilman    Because of Me (The Voice Performance)    
13    Sundance Head & Blake Shelton    Treat Her Right (The Voice Performance)

24    Wé McDonald    Wishes (The Voice Performance)

36    Wé McDonald & Alicia KeysAve Maria (The Voice Performance)

45    Sundance Head    Me and Jesus (The Voice Performance)   
46    Billy Gilman & Adam Levine    Bye Bye Love (The Voice Performance)    
49    Sundance Head    Darlin' Don't Go

Edited December 13, 2016 by Dots And Stripes

[TiredMe]

It was all just so blah. And really weird song choices. The worst of the night was Ava Maria. That was some truly atrocious singing from both. I was sorry I was watching,live because I'd have liked to have FF.

billy has a great voice but something doesn't click. No spark. I like Sundance but I'm not really a country fan so I guess I just don't care really.  I am really looking forward to some of tomorrow's performances.

[Ketzel]

Ninety seconds of Billy singing "My Way" sent me right to Monday Night Football. I checked back to hear Alicia singing Ave Maria off-key and that was all of the Voice finale I was willing to suffer. And I do mean suffer.

[jjjmoss]

Ew, Sundance is #1 and 3 on iTunes. 

[Padma]

I thought I'd be bored with Sundances' original country song, the lyrics he described in rehearsal were just so generic.But I liked it just fine, with his country-plus-bluesy-soul-gospel sound. I think he should win on overall performances and consistency, even though it's another one for "Team Blake".  

We and Alicia on "Ave Maria"? What on earth compelled them?

Miley looked so rapturous and angelic listening to Billy on "My Way". That, plus his tears, should be worth some votes. As for the song, I thought I'd hate it, but ... no, I felt it.  Also thought it was a good Broadway audition piece for him, or Vegas, or as an opening for Bolton. He was on pitch throughout, vocally expressive and I didn't mind the "pure, sweet" tone on that song like I thought I would. (Didn't like the ending tears, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that it was for real.)

I didn't mind Billy and Adam's duet, since Adam usually dominates on his duets and this was more in Billys wheelhouse--and like Adam actually letting his teammate shine.,

Blake is the opposite of Adam on his duets, always completely devoted to supporting his partner. While I really enjoyed "Treat Her Right" (esp. being the dad's classic). Blake's generosity always shines through. Here, he kept undersinging (when we all know how much power and intensity he can bring when he wants to). He did just enough on this to support Sundance and let -him- carry the dynamics. An enjoyable duet, but with Blake making every effort not to overshadow him, the vocal showcase was all for Sundance.

Josh is so generic and doesn't have the magnetism imo that Brendan did. Down to Billy and Sundance, imo, two veterans who've paid their dues (Josh of course still counts as a guy who's struggled a lot and been around a while, but I just don't see him as competitive with either of those two).  Musically, I personally prefer Sundance, but Billy's been consistent, too, and is deserving.

Edited December 13, 2016 by Padma

[ProudMary]

I only caught the last four performances, so one by each of the finalists.  The contestants I've been voting for all season--Brendan, Ali and Aaron--were already eliminated so I don't really have a horse in the race any longer, although I also liked Sundance (as I had years ago on American Idol) but hadn't been voting for him as I thought the others needed my votes more.  I did vote for him tonight and hope he wins.

Of the four performances I saw, I was really surprised how much I enjoyed Billy's original song.  I think that has the makings of a hit.  Nicely done.   Josh did a good job on the Jack & Diane cover.  I also liked Sundance's performance of At Last.

Which leaves We'.  Ugh!  Two weeks ago she ruined a Billie Holliday classic and tonight she murdered one of Barbra Streisand's greatest.  First off, I can't understand why they would give a teenager a Broadway song that's about 50 years old.  And when people say, "You don't try to tackle a song by Whitney/Celine/Mariah," you'd better believe that Streisand is atop that list!  I liked We' very much during the early portion of the competition but for the past several weeks, she has not been good.  I will search out the original song she did, but overall I think she's turned out to be a big disappointment.  I truly wish that Ali would have advanced to the final instead of We'.

[Gbb]

1 hour ago, ProudMary said:

Of the four performances I saw, I was really surprised how much I enjoyed Billy's original song.  I think that has the makings of a hit.  Nicely done.   Josh did a good job on the Jack & Diane cover.  I also liked Sundance's performance of At Last.

I like Billy just fine but I had a pretty visceral reaction of distaste to his original song. The lyrics read "over-invested, needy, and potentially stalkery/abusive" to me with all the "don't smile, don't cry, don't feel unless it's because of me" stuff. Just... ::shudder::

I wanted to like We' best tonight, but those songs were not her friend. As much as Blake doesn't need another win (I love Blake, but let's spread the love) I think Sundance really deserves it after tonight's performances. Miles ahead of everyone except maybe Billy. 

I thought Josh's original song could be a hit on country radio tomorrow, and that's not a compliment to the song or to current county music. 

Edited December 13, 2016 by Gbb

[Dots And Stripes]

Wouldn't Adam and Blake be tied for wins if Team Adam takes this season?

[Gbb]

Sundance now has #1 and #2 with Darlin' Don't Go and At Last. 4 and 5 ar Billy with My Way and Because of Me.  #6 is Josh with Pick Any Small Town and 7 is Sundance again with Treat Her Right. We' is at #10 with Wishes. 

[Muffyn]

This was such a boring finale.  At least Sundance seemed to really be enjoying himself.  Billy's lips must have been tired from all of the ass kissing he did in his interviews.  His performances came off like a mediocre performer at a school for the performing arts.  As to Josh, he succeeded in existing for the entire show.  It was quite an accomplishment.  

Alicia sounded terrible on Ave Maria.  Adam sounded horrible on both of his duets.  The pros really let their  contestants down.

We's version of Don't Rain On My Parade was also terrible.  That is a tough song to sing and perform well. It was so muddied the lyrics were indistinct. 

Tomorrow someone will win and we can forget about this lackluster season. 

[Mystery Author]

Quote

I wish we had got to see Miley up there with Ali.

Oh, how I wish Ali had chosen another coach. I blame Miley for Ali's loss. I mean, with a voice like Ali's, giving her (or letting her sing) "9 to 5"?

Boy-howdy, I'd LOVE to hear Ali sing "Ave Maria."

Quote

 And when people say, "You don't try to tackle a song by Whitney/Celine/Mariah," you'd better believe that Streisand is atop that list!

THIS! One hundred-million times! And for the record, Glee did it better.

By the way, did you know that Billy was a child prodigy (singing star)?

[SpringTulips]

Miley and Ali were great together.  They could not overcome the prejudices in Voice voting however.

I did think Ave Marie was a bit off.....until I heard Adam and Blake sing with their performers.

[Songbird]

Alicia Keys certainly sounded off key in her duet with We. We sounded pitchy at times too in all of her songs. Billy sang great as always and I hope his career is revived after doing The Voice. Josh sounds like the current crop of country singers I hear on the radio and I think he'll go far with his generic sound. But the best singer overall and the one that conveyed the most emotion too was Sundance. I voted for him and I hope he wins!  

[waving feather]

Sundance has been consistently good whole season but he really shined and pulled through in the finals, so I voted for him. Another country dude winning is not ideal but he really deserves the win over the other finalists. He's always so relaxed and professional on stage.

Billy is supposed to be a professional, right? Since he has been in the music business since young. But all I see is amateur musical theatre singer (emphasis on amateur). Hated what he did to My Way. That song is supposed to be sung by slowly building up to the last note, but he was at a 10 throughout, which made the whole thing flat. I notice he has the tendency to do that. Not ready for primetime.

[InfiniteMystery]

I'm not really qualified to judge anything here as I've missed most of the season (first time sitting it out for me). I started watching the blinds and drifted off somewhere and wasn't motivated to watch. Just happened to be home tonight and turned The Voice on.

I decided I really had no dog in the race, so I could be somewhat objective. Truth is, I disliked Billy from the beginning. Then, when he came out with My Way, I cringed, then blanked it out. For me, he is like wallpaper singing. I don't get why Bieber endorsed him. Or, maybe I do. Blake's tweet to vote Sundance has 3,000 likes while Bieber's endorsing Billy has 30,000 likes. Hmmm.

Apparently Billy's original is a Maroon 5 reject. I didn't really listen.

As far as any Sinatra song, I don't like anyone else singing them. I believe there was some sort of retrospective a year or so back and I recall only liking Seth McFarland's versions. Certainly, not this dude. I.do.not.get.it. Seems this happens every season for me. I didn't 'get' Sawyer, Alisan or Jordan. Last season, I do remember liking Adam Wakefield.

Anyhow, moving on. In the beginning when I watched, I did like We. I still think she has a unique voice, but, it didn't show up well tonight.

Josh was like having country radio on in the background, which, yeah, fine, but. Generic. Nothing that makes him stand out whatsoever.

Which brings me to Sundance. I remembered him from Idol, liked his audition and personality. I liked his original, liked At Last and loved him

singing his Dad's song with Blake (with the dad in the background video and the audience). I can feel his heart when he's singing. And, ultimately, that is what made me decide I did have a dog in the race. Voted for Sundance and hope he wins.

I definitely think it's between Billy and Sundance and I'm hoping somehow Sundance pulls out the win.

[Ellee]

I'm pulling for Sundance to win also but Billy is the 'story' this year. 

Have to say if anyone was going to sing 'My Way' I would have preferred it to be Riley. Something about that kid that stole my heart. 

He had said 'Frank did it his way...now I'm doing it my way.'  It's interesting to me that Billy ended up singing 'My Way'.  

Yeah, I know. That and a $1.49 will get me a 20 oz coffee. 

[DEL901]

Why did Adam pick Smooth as a duet with Josh?  Because he wanted to do the guitar solo?  Because it suited his voice?  The song certainly didn't fit Josh's range.

Ave Maria was just awful.  

And all the talk by Blake, "why wasn't Sundance discovered before?"  LOL He was but he didn't quite make the top 10 on Idol IIRC

After all the great auditions and battles, this was the best four they could come up with?   I think the problem is the process for getting the top 20 to the top 12.  Usually the coach has 2 or even 3 people they want to bring... but the public votes through the 2 they don't want but are now stuck with.

[Jolie]

Billy's original was the first time I enjoyed one of his performances this season. Mostly, I was so underwhelmed that I totally forgot to vote. I remembered when I was already in bed, so I dragged myself out and voted for Sundance. 

[Nedsdag]

If I were to judge the winner based on last night's performances, Sundance has this in the bag. I have yet to see iTunes, but it doesn't matter. He may not be a big recording star, but I was thoroughly entertained last night. Not bad for a Daughtry wannabe reject from American Idol season 6.

Speaking of rejects, Billy proved last night that not only was he a washout as a country singer, but he's also a washout as a wannabe pop star. Big notes doesn't mean I want to buy or listen to a song of his, and due to his lack of stage presence, wouldn't I waste my money seeing him perform. Perhaps the cabaret circuit is calling. Plus, he looked like a baby Fonzie in his music video. I was waiting for Potsie, Mr. C and Laurie Beth to make an appearance.

Josh only sounded good when he performed with Adam for the duet. In fact, Josh should've sang solo on it due to Adam's lack of range on that song.

As for Wé, if the final song was the indicator for this season's final, she would've won. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. Apparently, Alicia's songwriting friend owed her a favor writing that putrid original song for her. Nevertheless, I hope there is someone out there who can nuture and harness her talent, because she has something that does not translate well on a show like this.

Finally, this may be the final season I will watch The Voice. To be honest, they've jumped the shark (another Fonzie reference) when they lowered the age limit to 13. If you don't think the "coaches" don't critique the older contestants, what makes anyone think they will critique tweens on bad performances? Plus, I have Rachel Crow/X Factor US nightmares regarding these babies leaving the competition. 

Edited December 13, 2016 by Nedsdag

[thesupremediva1]

Well, I guess I'm in the small minority who really enjoyed this season. Two old veterans I've known for years (Sundance and Billy), no shock eliminations, new coaches who I enjoyed immensely... I'd give this a gold star.

I remember Billy from my childhood and I think his voice could be in the pantheon of greats. My Way was his best performance ever and, in my opinion, tied for the best performance of the night. I loved his single too (being an unapologetic Maroon 5 fan and all).

I still remember Sundance from nearly a decade ago as the biggest shock boot ever in the pre-final on American Idol. He sang Knights in White Satin in the semis and didn't make the live shows. Most people had him pegged as a finalist. That was Jordin Sparks' season. I see he's vastly improved and I'm so glad he found his way here. The other best performance tonight was his reimagining of At Last. He or Billy better win this thing.

Josh did just fine last night, but I don't find him terribly exciting as a performer. I think he'd be the most successful on radio and the charts, but that low-key vibe rarely plays well on a bombastic stage like this one. 

Sorry, We was terrible last night. I place most of the blame on Alicia. Ave Maria made my ears bleed. The ladies in my church choir sang it better on Sunday. Holy pitch problems! Their blend was also clunky. They could have sung any song better than that. Also, Streisand?! For a 17-year-old?! She's not Lea Michele. That was a solid 4th place for me.

Was Adam sick last night? He looked like he could barely move on stage. 

This show has made me like Miley Cyrus. I loved her odd veil and wondrous reactions to the performances. I hope she comes back. 

[Keekski]

I hope Sundance wins. He's the most honest & genuine of the finalists. I still can't believe Josh made it into the finals. Dude should have been gone weeks and weeks ago. He's a good looking guy, but I was not into his persona, singing, ect. I was over We weeks ago after it was obvious she's been over exaggerating her Mickey Mouse voice. And Billy is technically great, but he evokes no emotion.

[Ketzel]

4 hours ago, waving feather said:

 Hated what he did to My Way. That song is supposed to be sung by slowly building up to the last note, but he was at a 10 throughout, which made the whole thing flat. I notice he has the tendency to do that. Not ready for primetime.

This. It's also supposed to be about a the end of a life, not the end of a singing competition.  And Billy Gilman had no more business taking on a classic  Sinatra song than We did singing a classic Streisand song (did she really?? I can't quite believe it!!). Billy Gilman is NO Sinatra and never will be.  Aside from perfect pitch, a huge range and a respect for the lyrics that made every word clear when he sang, Frank Sinatra brought beautiful tone, timbre and a powerful emotional connection to the song and the listeners, whether he was singing a love song, an anthem or 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas."

[Bronzedog]

I'm pretty sure Billy will win.  I'm pretty sure Billy was always going to win.

[Sugar]

I will be so pissed if Billy wins this season. Sundance is the only one whose music I will listen to and buy, and I don't even like country - I'm a die hard jazz/blues/Motown fan. I would also pay to see him in concert. Billy? Would pay someone to turn his music off.

My fiance and I observed that Billy doesn't have character to his voice, so that may be his undoing. He has a good range, but he's very often off key, and his voice doesn't sound special - it's just a nice voice. Whereas if I heard Sundance, Josh, Brendan, We, etc. on the radio, I'd instantly know who I was listening to. Also, I think in terms of marketability, Billy falls flat. He's not good looking, not particularly stylish, doesn't have charisma - who is going to buy his records other than the little old ladies who remember him as the cute kid who sang country? Josh has the looks, Sundance has the "persona", We has the style and charisma - Billy brings nothing to the table. Also,  singing "My Way" on a singing competition show where he's told what to wear, what to sing, where to go, etc., is ridiculous. He's not doing anything his way - he's doing what Adam and producers are telling him to do. Never mind that Billy lacks the emotional maturity to interpret that song, it's just a downright silly choice. I don't usually get my panties in a bunch over song interpretation, but that performance was borderline offensive to me.

I have also been rooting for We, but was deeply disappointed by her song choices. Ave Maria is not to be taken lightly, and I feel like it was put in a lower key to accommodate Alicia's alto voice. Then we got that shittastic original song that sounds like it was written by a 14 year old Emo kid - seriously was shocked to learn it was written by a pro. And lastly, Rain on My Parade was technically good, but these performances don't give the viewers any indication of who We is as an artist, or what her music will sound like. Opera to Pop(?) to Show tunes - I get they wanted to show versatility, but this was not the place for it.

Surprised at how much I liked Josh's original song (liked the lyrics a lot), and Sundance's - was impressed by their songwriting abilities and happy they wrote their own jams. I was very confused by Billy's (got a weird possessive vibe from it), and cannot stress how shitty I thought We's song was. Alicia - you really couldn't put something together for the girl?

[Guest]

Billy sure inspires some strong reactions.  I hope that means he's going to win.  Though the $100k and 'usually worse than no contract' contract aren't exactly going to change anyone's life.  

Speaking of, shouldn't Alisan have a debut album out by now?  Jordan's came out 3 months after his win.  Alisan won almost 7 months ago.  

[DarkRaichu]

As usual, the contestants' music videos looked like things that were created in 24 hours. :D I've seen better music videos from Youtube semi(?) pros.  Josh's video looked the best thanks to the old time-y clips from public domain :P

Edited December 13, 2016 by DarkRaichu

[MaryPatShelby]

11 hours ago, Mystery Author said:

By the way, did you know that Billy was a child prodigy (singing star)?

And did you know he's worked really, REALLY hard to get back into music? 

 

Couple of thoughts.  First of all, I have been very meh on Sundance - not my kind of music, not the kind of voice I like, hate his look.  Nothing turned around for me last night when I said to myself "Sweet Jesus, I am NOT listening to him sing 'At Last'."  Was it decent?  Should I go back and watch?

I might have liked We's original song, but I barely understood a word.  Not because she has that weird pronunciation thing that many females her age have, but it just sounded so garbled, like she wasn't enunciating clearly at all.  Just me?

[Wicked]

I personally enjoyed his version of At Last.  I wasn't expecting to.  He changes it up quite a bit.

[bluepiano]

1 hour ago, Sugar said:

I will be so pissed if Billy wins this season. Sundance is the only one whose music I will listen to and buy, and I don't even like country - I'm a die hard jazz/blues/Motown fan. I would also pay to see him in concert. Billy? Would pay someone to turn his music off.

I wouldn't care if Billy won, because he seems like a genuinely nice, humble guy, but I agree with what many have said, that he has great range but little character to his voice. I did like his duet with Adam on the Everly Brothers song, because he seemed to be relaxed and enjoying himself, and not going for big dramatic effect like he usually does.

How did I not know that Sundance Head was Roy Head's son? I've always loved "Treat Her Right." I guess Roy Head was a one hit wonder. I don't remember him ever having a follow-up. Kudos to whoever came up with that soulful arrangement. It sounded like the way Ray Charles would do the song. I'm also a blues-jazz-soul guy, and with Sundance I hear a voice that incorporates elements of those genres. Not to the extent that Adam Wakefield did, but he's still more interesting to me than most country singers on this show. (Like Josh, who is very generic).

13 hours ago, ProudMary said:

Which leaves We'.  Ugh!  Two weeks ago she ruined a Billie Holliday classic and tonight she murdered one of Barbra Streisand's greatest.  

Hopefully giving her the pimp spot will not help. I was in the "anybody but We" camp even before she murdered "God Bless the Child." She began the season as one of the heavy favorites, but based on her performances this season she did not deserve final four. Ali for one was certainly a better and more consistent singer. But she didn't have producer favoritism, or We's Minnie Mouse voice gimmick.

Edited December 13, 2016 by bluepiano

[ChicksDigScars]

6 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Why did Adam pick Smooth as a duet with Josh?  Because he wanted to do the guitar solo?  Because it suited his voice?  The song certainly didn't fit Josh's range.

 

OH. My. GOD. That was awful. The vocals were terrible, and I include Adam on that one. The "main character" in Smooth wasn't Rob Thomas' voice. It was Carlos Santana's guitar, which riffed through the ENTIRE song. Adam played a bit at the guitar solo section, but there was nothing to go along with the vocal, and that vocal last night needed saving badly. Oh my god. SO bad. Adam's voice is too high for the song and Josh? No. Just no. 

 

I-Tunes as of 2:15 today:

1.  Darlin' Don't Go: Sundance Head

2. At Last: Sundance Head

3. Because of Me: Billy Gilman

4. My Way: Billy Gilman

6. Pick Any Small Town: Josh Gallagher

7. Treat Her Right: Sundance Head and Blake Shelton

10. Wishes: We McDonald

11. Jack and Diane: Josh Gallagher

12. Don't Rain on My Parade: We McDonald

14. Ave Maria: We McDonald and Alicia Keyes

20. Bye Bye Love: Billy Gilman and Adam Levine

21. Me and Jesus: Sundance Head

31. Smooth: Josh Gallagher and Adam Levine

40. I Surrender: Billy Gilman

50. Love Can Build a Bridge: Sundance Head

65. Danny's Song: Josh Gallagher 

75. My Church: Sundance Head

77. I've Been Loving You Too Long: Sundance Head

83. No One: Sundance Head

84. Blue Ain't Your Color: Sundance Head

88. The Climb: Sundance Head

91. Take Me to Church: We McDonald

Jesus. Sundance has a Hair Boy-esque (Sawyer like) grip on the I-Tunes downloads, doesn't he? I guess if you think I-Tunes is an accurate gauge, Sundance wins with Gilman 2nd. Josh and We seems pretty close for 3rd. 

Edited December 13, 2016 by ChicksDigScars

[basiltherat]

I only watched snippets of the show, but as soon as I heard that Alicia and We were going to murder "Ave Maria", I turned the channel. (my conddolences to those who listened)  I would enjoy BILLY singing it.  He has a clear and pure voice.

Liked Billy doing "My Way" and duet with Adam.  Billy will be good in Broadway because there he would be playing a character and maybe then he can learn to emote. 

But, dear God, the worse voiced contestant was Adam.  He was TURRIBLE!

Good luck Sundance and Billy.  Better luck to the rest of us next season.

[SnarkyTart]

For me for you, Sundance Head owned this night.  Considering all 12 of the performances (original song, cover song, duet song), Sundance won the top three spots.  I thought he had his best performance night of the series on all three of his songs, and he certainly chose the right time to peak.  I really enjoyed his duet with Blake, and appreciated how Blake used the duet to spotlight Sundance, and not Blake (I'm looking at YOU, Adam Levine!).   I also liked Sundance's original song the best, and was impressed with his songwriting skills.  Even though country is not my jam, I could imagine hearing Sundance on the radio.

Billy, again, was technically very good.  I still think he has a beautiful instrument, but no soul or passion in his tone or delivery.  I also didn't like his original song and was less than impressed with his song selections this night.  And, "My Way"? Self indulgent rubbish < /Simon Cowell voice> Still looking at YOU, Adam Levine! 

Wé, who started out so strong in her blind audition, has continued to circle the drain with each succeeding week.  She seems to have no clear musical identity, and struggles with vocal control.  I think she needs a little more time to cook and mature, another argument for not having teenagers on the show.  That "Ave Maria" was so bad, with both ladies having constant pitch problems, with Alicia being the worst offender of the two.  "Ave Maria" AND "Don't Rain on My Parade"? Both of them, self indulgent rubbish < /Simon Cowell voice>

I still don't know what Josh is doing in the finals.  He's one of those bland, bar band, mediocre vocalists who wouldn't have made it into the top 10 on some previous seasons.  Adam Levine should apologize to Josh for stinking up that duet.  I usually like Adam's performances, but he didn't even bother to show up for this one.  Come to think of it, Adam didn't bother waking up for his duet with Billy either.  I see a common denominator here.  Hmmm.

Edited December 13, 2016 by SnarkyTart

[Noreaster]

I suspect "My Way" was chosen to support Billy's narrative.  His story of re-entering the music industry and trying to do it "his way" or something like that.  

I felt like Sundance Head was checking off the sob story check list last night.  I'm not suggesting he was insincere or not genuine or anything but singing his father's song, the story of his dead brother, the original written for his wife, etc....it was like Reality Show 101.  

I really dislike the sitdowns with Carson, the coach, and the contestant.  They feel so inauthentic to me.  Billy was certainly doing his job to service the "Adam is a great coach and someone I have learned to trust" concept, but come on. And the Josh/Adam relationship couldn't have felt more forced to me.  I think Adam has done the best that he can and certainly says the right things in his pitches to support Josh.  But it seemed pretty clear to me that the two don't have much in common and Adam likely was not very involved in the song selection and coaching process.  Maybe the past couple of weeks when the song choices were more pop/country or classic rock (I don't know how to characterize Danny's Song?), but I doubt Adam had ever heard of Josh's other songs before the show.  

11 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Why did Adam pick Smooth as a duet with Josh?  Because he wanted to do the guitar solo?  Because it suited his voice?  The song certainly didn't fit Josh's range.

I actually thought "Smooth" fit Josh's voice pretty well.  That plus the guitar solo for Adam is probably why they chose that song. Can't really see Adam doing country and I don't think the song fit Adam's voice at all.  In fact, I think Adam ruined it in the beginning with his voice.  It was enjoyable to me when it was just Josh singing and Adam on guitar.

The duet song with Billy was also not a typical Adam duet number (that is, not in the Beatles/Elton John/Michael Jackson realm).  It seemed more suited for Billy than for Adam.  When I was watching it, I wondered if Adam had to rely on the teleprompter for the lyrics.  Billy was having fun and Adam mostly looked straight ahead.

Edited December 13, 2016 by Noreaster

[Gel]

Anyone but Josh. Yes, Josh would fit in with country radio right now. And as a longtime country fan, I say, what happened to you, country radio?!

[MaryPatShelby]

I didn't like the sob story aspect of Sundance either, but then again as stated above I'm not a big fan of Sundance to begin with.  And I'm not in favor of crying-while-or-after-singing, unless it's Kelly Clarkson singing Piece by Piece.  I understand the need to connect but the crying just seems like too much to me...especially if it's not an intrinsically sad song.

[TheGreenKnight]

I consider it a good season if I like one or two people. This year, I liked Billy, Christian, and Belle. We and Courtney were okay. I didn’t really enjoy any of the performances in the finale though. All the original songs were bad and I generally hate most of the coach-contestant duets in this show’s history (minus a couple of Christina's--"The Prayer" with Chris Mann and "You've Got a Friend" with Alisan), and tonight was no exception. Not a fan of Sinatra, personally, so I wish Billy had got something better to sing. We definitely couldn’t reach Streisand on DROMP.

I wish We could’ve performed her duet song solo, because Alicia ruined it. I’ll be honest that I don’t like Sundance. As some would say about Billy, he's technically good, but I’m not a fan. At this point, I’d even take Josh over Sundance. The one comfort is that, as usual, no matter who wins, nobody becomes a star. *shrug* I think the show wants Billy to win so that Blake and Adam are tied, which will create more drama for future seasons on who will break the tie.

[zoltana]

Hoping for a Sundance win.  I will definitely say I'm biased.  Friends band opened for him here in Texas a couple of years ago and the guy is a sweetheart.  Down to earth and humble.  At that time he was doing more bluesy stuff mixed in with the country, but he was putting a kind of rockabilly spin on the country.  I try to watch the show with an open mind and have been a big fan of We as well.  She is young and I think will have a very lucrative career in her future.  Last night however seemed like Sundance stole the show.  Re-watching all the performances this morning I was surprised at how watching them together it was like seeing 3 contestants and 1 already established artist.  Even the stage arrangements seemed to favor Sundance.   Good Luck to all of them either way.  Winning a contest such as this does not equate to automatic stardom, but I hope whomever wins has a wonderful ride.

[Chyromaniac]

Quote

Anyone but Josh. Yes, Josh would fit in with country radio right now. And as a longtime country fan, I say, what happened to you, country radio?!

A part of me wants to believe that giving Josh a song called "Pick Any Small Town" was a subtle dig at how utterly generic he is.  Sadly, I don't think modern country music is in on the joke.

[Michel]

On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 2:16 PM, SnarkyTart said:

Adam Levine should apologize to Josh for stinking up that duet.  I usually like Adam's performances, but he didn't even bother to show up for this one.  Come to think of it, Adam didn't bother waking up for his duet with Billy either.  I see a common denominator here.  Hmmm.

I think Adam was still a bit down about Brendan's ouster.  I'd thought that Billy was Adam's favorite, but I really do think it was Brendan now.  So I think he checked out a bit.

On ‎12‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 4:21 PM, Noreaster said:

I really dislike the sitdowns with Carson, the coach, and the contestant.  They feel so inauthentic to me.  Billy was certainly doing his job to service the "Adam is a great coach and someone I have learned to trust" concept, but come on. And the Josh/Adam relationship couldn't have felt more forced to me.  I think Adam has done the best that he can and certainly says the right things in his pitches to support Josh.  But it seemed pretty clear to me that the two don't have much in common and Adam likely was not very involved in the song selection and coaching process.

I get the feeling that Adam has been subconsciously (maybe even consciously) resentful of Josh making it past the Live Playoffs when he really wanted Riley Elmore there instead (even though I couldn't have seen Riley lasting for much longer if he'd made it through).  I don't think he actually cared how far Josh got since a.) he doesn't know country, and b.) because of that resentment on Riley's behalf.

As for Billy, I don't know.  I would've thought that Adam would've seen him as his main horse for the win due his backstory and how much the fans slobbered all over him.  But as I said above, I just think that Adam really, really wanted Brendan to make the finale.  I got the oddest feeling that he was his favorite.

[alecbaldwin]

@Michel I always look forward to your comment on the performances so what do you think about them?

Edited December 15, 2016 by alecbaldwin

[viajero]

What a blah end to a blah season.  I guess it says something that I didn't even bother watching the episode until several days later and now I wonder why I bothered watching it at all.

The only performance in this episode that I found remotely up to standards set in past season's was Sundance's original - more because of his emotional connection to the song than because it was all that good.  And is there some kind of rule now that you can't do any song that isn't at least 3 decades old, if not 4, 5 or 6?  Many of the songs covered in this finale were from even before my time and that's saying something.

The only redeeming thing about this season turned out to be Miley Cyrus.  I never would have thought that when the season began.