S12.E27: Live Finale, Part 1

[Nalan]

From TV Guide:

The final four artists perform for coaches Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Alicia Keys, and Blake Shelton.  Each artist performs three songs -- a cover, an original song, and a duet with his or her coach.

Comment on the finale performances here.

I'm not really as invested since Gwen's team is all gone, and I was rooting hard for Brennley and Hunter, but I'm invested just enough to root for Alicia to win with Chris or Blake (if he just has to win again) to win with Lauren, but not with Aliyah, whom I still just don't feel deserves it.  But I'd even take her over Jesse (and another Adam win), who also doesn't deserve it.

[Nalan]

For the final time, song choices:

Team Adam
Jesse: "Takin' It To The Streets" by the Doobie Brothers (cover), "Woman" (original), and "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince (duet with Adam)

Team Gwen
No more artists.:(

Team Alicia
Chris: "Rhythm Nation" by Janet Jackson (cover), "Money on You" (original), and "Diamonds and Peals" by Prince (duet with Alicia)

Team Blake
Aliyah: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" by Stevie Wonder (cover), "Never be Lonely" (original), and "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas (duet with Blake)
Lauren: "The Dance" by Garth Brooks (cover), "Déjà Vu" (original), and "There's a Tear in My Beer" by Hank Williams, Jr. (duet with Blake)

They're really bussing Aliyah and Jesse with those cover and duet choices.  They must've realized there were lots of angry fans over them getting through.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Nalan

[Nalan]

So the final performance night showed that everyone's trying to bring it.  But unfortunately, only two of the finalists really did.

The performances:

Aliyah (Original): Wow.  This was just . . . not a good start to the show.  The song was so cheesy bad, it's unbelievable.  And the staging was just as bad, if not worse.  And to top it off, I only just realized that Aliyah has zero stage presence whatsoever.  Seriously.  This girl is the one to whom America gave the last guaranteed spot over Hunter or even Brennley last week?  This girl?  I guess all you have to do is cry during a performance to have it made on this show.  Sigh.

Jesse (Cover): Just the same thing I expect from Jesse.  Decent song for his voice, but I just don't care.  I don't feel anything when he sings.  I just don't.  Adam, please stop selling him as the winner.  The one to get Instant-Saved into the finale never wins.  Just.  Stop.  It.

Chris & Alicia: Well, Chris wins the duet battle.  He and Alicia were damn near flawless together.  And what a shock that he didn't use his falsetto even once.  I approve!  I think it'll chart well, despite not counting for votes.  Thank you, Alicia, for bringing an interesting song outside of the TV box.  Hard one to nail, but they did really well overall.

Lauren (Cover): Gorgeous tone, as usual.  But always very boring, as usual.  And I think, in a roundabout way, Adam pretty much told her as much, too.  Her vocal performances are always strong and solid.  But she clearly doesn't have as much stage experience as she claims, because she can't bring out the stage presence necessary to really sell a song.  She'll still probably win or come in second, though.

Aliyah & Blake: Wow.  I had a feeling that the song choice would be a trainwreck, and it was.  This was Team-Blake-performance levels of bad.  Blake deserves credit for giving Aliyah something in her wheelhouse . . . but he really should've found something that could've at least suited him, and Martha and the Vandellas?  Was not it.

Chris (Original): Oh, this was amazing!  I can definitely see and hear this on the radio, and Chris sold it well!  It could've sold his voice a bit more than it did, but I was at least engaged and entertained throughout.  And I think that the long, loud applause he got after the performance was over is a pretty big indicator that he'll be getting quite a bit of votes and downloads from this.

Jesse & Adam: Mess.  Such a mess.  Adam, you shouldn't be outdone by Blake in duets.  Ever.  Although you can play guitar better than Blake can dance.  I don't even think Jesse was all that good (Prince really wasn't a good choice for him), but he was still better than Adam.

Lauren & Blake: Probably not one of her best.  I really expected better from them, given them both being country.  Still good, but could've been better, is what I'm saying.

Jesse (Original): Probably the only thing he did well at.  He still didn't make me feel, but at least he actually did a fair, solid job at this one.

Aliyah (Cover): I actually enjoyed this song from her.  Her vocals were good, but her stage presence wasn't the best, just like before.  I think it's between her and Jesse for third place.

Lauren (Original): As usual, great performance.  And what's interesting is that this original is one that she wrote herself!  She definitely did well on her own song.  I think this one should definitely get her the votes.

Chris (Cover): Great way to close the show!  He was interesting, engaging, and just very, very strong with his vocals.  Laid it on a bit thick with the vocal tricks, but this late in the competition, when he's trying to knock the audience's socks off to get votes, this time is absolutely necessary.  All in all, an amazing performance, and I think and hope that this and his original should get him some major votes.

All in all, I hope that Chris and Lauren are the top two, in either order.  While I'm not big on Blake winning yet again (if he does, he'll have six, and in twelve seasons, that'll be literally half of them), Lauren would deserve it.  And I have to thank Alicia for coaching Chris very well this season, and if he wins it for her, at least she can go out with a bang, a la Usher and Christina, who also took their sole wins and went off into the sunset.  Aliyah improved greatly throughout the season, but I don't think she deserved to reach the finale, so I'd rather see her lose.  And Jesse was always middle-of-the-pack, at best, and completely mediocre, at worst, and doesn't deserve the win, either.  And I really wanna keep seeing Adam lose as much as possible.

On a side note, I got word that the producers are tossing Gwen a bone and giving her the coach duet she deserved.  She and Hunter are performing tomorrow night.  I think even the producers realized they goofed in pushing Aliyah and Jesse as hard as they did, since it essentially ended up screwing her out of having at least one person in the finale.  So at least she can get this.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Nalan

[Babalooie]

10 minutes ago, Nalan said:

All in all, I hope that Chris and Lauren are the top two, in either order. 

I felt that they performed in the order in which they're going out - with Chris and Lauren interchangeable for the winner.

[Diana Berry]

Enjoyable show.

i enjoy Chris but it almost feels like his performances are formulatic.  

Lauren's original was beautiful.  It was a really good song ( I wasn't expecting a lot but color me impressed).  

Did they even have talk to Gwen tonite?  ( I missed the first 15 mins).  Glad she has something to do tomorrow night.

So are they taking the grand total of iTunes sales for all 3 songs the performers perform?

Edited May 23, 2017 by Diana Berry

[Dots And Stripes]

If Alicia wins, she will have won half her seasons too. Just sayin'. 

I'm all for the Lauren win. She sounded a little nervous tonight on her cover. I wish they would have started her with her duet to get her warmed up. I love her voice and I could listen to her all day.

Chris' strategy is intersting. Upbeat songs don't usually sell as well. He definitely stood out though. We'll see if it pays off.

I like Aliyah. I'm happy she made it this far and her performances looked like they were a lot of fun. One ballad out of three performances would have been nice, but her cover was her strongest, a ballad with duet would be tricky, and I'm sure she had limited options for the original. 

Adam's sales pitch for Jesse bugged. No Jesse is not a special vocalist who will save the premise of the Voice. Adam is just hoping to help his own win record. Jesse also focused a lot on the guitar a lot tonight so it was an odd choice of pitch.

[Dots And Stripes]

16 minutes ago, Diana Berry said:

Enjoyable show.

i enjoy Chris but it almost feels like his performances are formulatic.  

Lauren's original was beautiful.  It was a really good song ( I wasn't expecting a lot but color me impressed).  

Did they even have talk to Gwen tonite?  ( I missed the first 15 mins).  Glad she has something to do tomorrow night.

So are they taking the grand total of iTunes sales for all 3 songs the performers perform?

Gwen spoke after Aliyah's first performance.

Full voting rules are here. Cumulative iTunes sales and streams, including the 2 solo performances tonight, get added to the online and app votes.

[Nalan]

19 minutes ago, Diana Berry said:

So are they taking the grand total of iTunes sales for all 3 songs the performers perform?

Just the covers and the originals.  The duets don't count, even though they can be downloaded.

[Nalan]

Immediate results thus far, but an MST bump is to follow:

1. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "Déjà Vu"
3. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "The Dance"
4. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Money on You"
11. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Woman"
12. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Never be Lonely"
29. Lauren Duski & Blake Shelton: "There's a Tear in My Beer"
34. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Takin' it to the Street"
36. Chris Blue & Alicia Keys: "Diamonds and Pearls"
45. Jesse Larson & Adam Levine: "Let's Go Crazy"
46. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Rhythm Nation"
55. Aliyah Moulden & Blake Shelton: "Dancing in the Streets"
56. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"

Lauren has double the multiplier already, which makes her winning chances very good.  Chris has one multiplier for his original.  Jesse is close to getting one for his original, and Aliyah for hers.  But I don't think any of the other solos will get there.  Honestly, I maintain that Aliyah took a finale spot from someone who deserved it, as did Jesse, and their meager sales leave me vindicated with that thought.

[Noreaster]

Pretty blah finale.  No real wow performances and a lot of boring ones.  Lauren's and Jesse's original songs were decent.  I liked the guitar solos in the Jesse/Adam duet.  Chris's cover seemed to be the right way to end the show as it was the most upbeat but it still felt lacking to me.  Aliyah just showed tonight how she didn't really belong in the finals at all.  Very high school talent show.  I wish Vanessa or Hunter was there instead.  

[kathyk24]

I thought Lauren won the night I loved her original song. She has a career as songwriter if being a singer doesn't work out. I think Jesse is a better guitar player than he is a singer. I missed Vanessa I wished she had been in the finale.

[nextian]

I want Lauren to win, I absolutely love her voice. The Dance is my all time favorite song and she did a beautiful job (so happy she didn't gender change the lyrics, the king line is the best line in the song). Did she touch Garth Brooks with her cover? No, but no one does. I adored her original too, I'll be buying it. I believe it's down to her and Chris, who also did an excellent job tonight. That being said, Rhythm Nation was not a good choice. Performance wise it was excellent, the dancing was fabulous, the vocal isn't anything to write home about though, he wasn't bad, it's just not a vocal powerhouse kind of song! Chris sure can dance though, tons of fun to watch. The less said about Adam covering Prince the better, but I could not have cringed more then when he started the spoken word at the beginning. No Adam, just no.

[Nalan]

Results with the MST bump:

1. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "Déjà Vu"
2. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "The Dance"
3. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Money on You"
6. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Woman"
9. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Never be Lonely"
20. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Rhythm Nation"
23. Lauren Duski & Blake Shelton: "There's a Tear in My Beer"
27. Chris Blue & Alicia Keys: "Diamonds and Pearls"
33. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Takin' it to the Street"
39. Jesse Larson & Adam Levine: "Let's Go Crazy"
50. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
51. Aliyah Moulden & Blake Shelton: "Dancing in the Streets"

Well, with the MST bump, Lauren is now at the top two with both of her solos.  Chris is at number three behind her solos.  Jesse looks to be getting his first iTunes bonus now.  And it only took him till the finale to get one!  Aliyah's gotten her second one.  Chris's cover and his duet with Alicia both move up greatly, with the former passing both Jesse's cover and his duet with Adam, and also passing Lauren's duet with Blake.  Aliyah's cover and her duet with Blake remain on the bottom.  At this point, I won't be surprised if she becomes the first person to get the (in her case, fully undeserved) public vote into the finale, but still fall behind the Instant-Saved person and finish fourth, looking at Jesse's sales vs. hers.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Nalan

[Chyromaniac]

Welcome to the Lauren Duski Endless Bummer Tour 2017...

[Mr. R0b0t]

While I really like Jesse's voice, I understand that its not everyone's cuppa tea.  He may be the best musician I've seen (I haven't seen every episode of the 12 seasons).  Lauren seems poised to win, but I find her oh so vanilla.  Wish Aaliyah had been on the show as a more mature singer.  Chris really did well on Diamonds and Pearls and of the original songs I found his the biggest earworm.

Overall a down season.  The fatal flaw of this show is no neutral judge(s) to critique the singers properly.  None of the judges want to be critical for fear it will effect them later.  All the singing shows suffer from limited song choices, which is why the blinds are so much fun because of the risks the singers take and the versatility of songs.

[Sile]

I have the same problem with Jesse that I had with Laith.  The name of the show is The Voice, not The Guitarist.  Nothing against them personally, but that's just not what the show is supposed to be about.  Of course, it didn't start out to be about photogenically gifted young teens, either, so there's that.

All three Prince songs this season disappointed me.  In some respects, it's because no one (whose name isn't Sinead or Bruno) can do complete justice to a Prince song.  (Although Chris came close, I'll admit.)  But mostly, it's just a reminder that the only reason they were able to perform these songs at all is because Prince is dead.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Sile

[Nalan]

Results with the remaining PST bumps now that the show has ended on the West Coast:

1. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "Déjà Vu"
2. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "The Dance"
3. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Money on You"
6. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Woman"
8. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Never be Lonely"
20. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Rhythm Nation"
21. Lauren Duski & Blake Shelton: "There's a Tear in My Beer"
23. Chris Blue & Alicia Keys: "Diamonds and Pearls"
33. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Takin' it to the Street"
38. Jesse Larson & Adam Levine: "Let's Go Crazy"
46. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
51. Aliyah Moulden & Blake Shelton: "Dancing in the Streets"

Lauren remains constant with both of her solos, and Chris and Jesse remain constant with theirs.  Aliyah has also nosed up with hers.  Chris's cover moves up a lot, and will probably continue to do so throughout the night, as does his duet with Alicia.  Lauren's duet with Blake noses up some more.  Jesse's cover and his duet with Adam both nose up some more, but remain in the bottom third of the sales placements.  Aliyah's cover and her duet with Blake are still the bottom two, sales-wise, despite her cover rising a fair bit.  Again, how and why did this girl get to the finale?!

Edited May 23, 2017 by Nalan

[Padma]

Jesse's more my preferred style musically, but I don't think he has any chance of winning. Lauren has a lovely voice and looks a bit like Judy Collins.  I wouldn't mind if she wins, and she would be deserv ing, although I wouldn't mind Chris winning for Alicia either. Not a big pop fan, but he's clearly talented and entertaining..

Adam ticked me off so much tonight with his comments to Lauren that I definitely won't mind her winning.  Could he have cast any MORE shade with his passive aggressive comments? "Your voice sounds so familiar...very comforting...you know, like we've heard it from other people many times before... it's actually kind of boring... (realizes he's overdoing it, tries to recover his image for fans)... which is why we enjoy what you do and love you."

I like him most of the time, but when it's getting competitive,, he's really awful. Shut up, Adam.  We all know that you don't think Jesse is the most amazing artist ever. You just want to win. 

Edited May 23, 2017 by Padma

[Nalan]

Current results:

1. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "Déjà Vu"
2. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "The Dance"
3. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Money on You"
5. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Woman"
7. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Never be Lonely"
15. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Rhythm Nation"
20. Lauren Duski & Blake Shelton: "There's a Tear in My Beer"
24. Chris Blue & Alicia Keys: "Diamonds and Pearls"
33. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Takin' it to the Street"
36. Jesse Larson & Adam Levine: "Let's Go Crazy"
43. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
44. Aliyah Moulden & Blake Shelton: "Dancing in the Streets"

The top five performances (both of Lauren's solos and Chris, Jesse, and Aliyah's originals) all remain constant.  Chris's cover moves up significantly even more, and I think it's on the cusp of getting the multiplier.  Lauren's duet with Blake and Chris's with Alicia both move up, as well.  Jesse's cover and his duet with Adam both nose up some more, as do Aliyah's cover and her duet with Blake, but all remain in the bottom third.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Nalan

[Nalan]

Current results:

1. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "Déjà Vu"
2. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "The Dance"
3. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Money on You"
5. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Woman"
7. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Never be Lonely"
11. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Rhythm Nation"
18. Lauren Duski & Blake Shelton: "There's a Tear in My Beer"
22. Chris Blue & Alicia Keys: "Diamonds and Pearls"
27. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Takin' it to the Streets"
30. Jesse Larson & Adam Levine: "Let's Go Crazy"
41. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
43. Aliyah Moulden & Blake Shelton: "Dancing in the Street"

The top five performances (both of Lauren's solos and Chris, Jesse, and Aliyah's originals) all remain constant.  Chris's cover moves up significantly even more, and I think it's on the cusp of getting the multiplier.  Lauren's duet with Blake and Chris's with Alicia both move up, as well.  Jesse's cover and his duet with Adam both nose up some more, as do Aliyah's cover and her duet with Blake, but all remain in the bottom third.  Once again, what is this girl doing here?!

[Nalan]

Got an early security class tomorrow, so one last update of current results before I retire:

1. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "Déjà Vu"
2. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "The Dance"
3. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Money on You"
5. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Woman"
7. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Never be Lonely"
10. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Rhythm Nation"
18. Lauren Duski & Blake Shelton: "There's a Tear in My Beer"
22. Chris Blue & Alicia Keys: "Diamonds and Pearls"
27. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Takin' it to the Streets"
29. Jesse Larson & Adam Levine: "Let's Go Crazy"
41. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
43. Aliyah Moulden & Blake Shelton: "Dancing in the Street"

The top five performances (both of Lauren's solos and Chris, Jesse, and Aliyah's originals) all remain constant again, as do Lauren's duet with Blake, Chris's with Alicia, and the bottom two songs from Aliyah.  But two songs have nosed up.  Chris's cover has nosed up into multiplier territory (now to see if he keeps it there), and Jesse's duet with Adam moves up just a tad.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Nalan

[waving feather]

Lauren is boring to watch because her stage presence is not great but she is the only artist I've bought songs from iTunes. Her voice is money. She is like Carrie Underwood on Idol. Great voice but stiff on stage. None of the others in top 4 have good enough voice for me to buy songs from. Chris is a great singer but is his voice beautiful enough for me to just listen again? Nope. The other singer this season that I will consider buying original music from is Hunter. He has some bad habits (I.e. enunciation) when performing but has a beautiful voice as well.

[rollerblade]

15 minutes ago, waving feather said:

Lauren is boring to watch because her stage presence is not great but she is the only artist I've bought songs from iTunes. Her voice is money. She is like Carrie Underwood on Idol. Great voice but stiff on stage.

Carrie's showmanship inproved leaps and bounds after Idol.  Lauren could too with some stage training, if she wants to go that route.

[waving feather]

23 minutes ago, rollerblade said:

Carrie's showmanship inproved leaps and bounds after Idol.  Lauren could too with some stage training, if she wants to go that route.

Definitely. That girl on American Idol is unrecognizable now, in a good way! So Lauren can work on that too and gain confidence after doing more live shows. But she has the potential to be someone who people would pay money for their music.

If Blake won with Lauren, I get it would be the same old with Blake winning with a country artist again. But when I hear Lauren's voice, I don't necessary think she's only a country artist. Even her original song, especially the iTunes version, is more pop than country, IMO. It's really good, by the way. Even if you don't enjoy Lauren on the show, the song is worth getting because it's beautifully sung.

[Jolie]

I just headed to iTunes to buy Lauren's song. I don't remember the last The Voice song I purchased but it's been awhile since I've been moved to actually shell out cash for something I've heard on the show. :) Whether Lauren wins or not, I hope she gets a career out of this show. She also has Blake to help her.

I'd be fine with either Lauren or Chris winning. Lauren has a beautiful instrument, and talent as a songwriter.  Chris is a great entertainer. I don't think I would necessarily buy his music, but I would definitely go to his show.

[TiredMe]

I enjoy the heck out of Jesse but recognize he's got no chance. Still pleased he made the finale.

I actually felt that Jesse Lauren and Chris all deserved to be in the finale and they all did very well. Lauren is going to take it all but Chris is so talented. I really got a kick out of his performances last night. Random thoughts, don't care that Gwen had nothing to do. She honestly brings nothing to the show normally. And Adam, I like you however, that shade you were throwing last night was neither subtle nor cool dude.  

Overall as long as it isn't Aliyah, I'm fine with the winner.

[Nalan]

Heading out to my early security class now, but one last update of current results before I go:

1. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "Déjà Vu"
2. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "The Dance"
3. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Money on You"
5. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Woman"
7. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Never be Lonely"
9. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Rhythm Nation"
18. Lauren Duski & Blake Shelton: "There's a Tear in My Beer"
21. Chris Blue & Alicia Keys: "Diamonds and Pearls"
28. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Takin' it to the Streets"
29. Jesse Larson & Adam Levine: "Let's Go Crazy"
41. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
44. Aliyah Moulden & Blake Shelton: "Dancing in the Street"

The top five performances (both of Lauren's solos and Chris, Jesse, and Aliyah's originals) all remain constant again, as do Lauren's duet with Blake, Jesse's duet with Adam, and Aliyah's cover.  But Chris's cover has further nosed up into multiplier territory, and his duet with Alicia has moved up, as well.  But Jesse's cover and Aliyah's duet with Blake actually fall by one place each.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Nalan

[SunnyBeBe]

I thought they all did very well.  (I ended up seeing some portions, though, I didn't want to watch. )  Still rooting for Aliyah, but, I also was impressed with Chris!  I'm rooting now for a Chris win or Aliyah.  Then Jesse.  I'm not a Lauren fan.  Her voice is nice, but, it's just does nothing for me.  And I like Carrie and Trisha Yearwood a lot.  She's just not like them, imo.  

This is likely the second year that Blake's pick wins and I am completely unimpressed with them. (Sundance last year.) Is this more about Blake's fans voting and purchasing and not the actual contest.  Oh well, I hope the winner can put the money to good use.  

[Dots And Stripes]

3 hours ago, SunnyBeBe said:

 

This is likely the second year that Blake's pick wins and I am completely unimpressed with them. (Sundance last year.) Is this more about Blake's fans voting and purchasing and not the actual contest.  Oh well, I hope the winner can put the money to good use.  

If it was only about Blake fans there wouldn't have been such a long gap between CWB and Sundance winning. Imo, Lauren and Blake have made smart choices. Lauren's Somewhere In My Broken Heart is one of my all time favorite Voice performances and I'm not a country music fan.

[Sugar]

I love Jesse, and I really dug his original song. To me, Jesse is a vocalist, and easily on par with Lauren and Chris in terms of ability and natural talent (I like Aaliyah but want her to mature and grow into her voice a bit). That he plays guitar is just a bonus for me. I could easily say that Hunter was a great arranger/producer, but his actual voice is just "ok", and that TSoul was a better performer than he was vocalist. Liked them both though. 
I think it's a strong group this year - there really were no "wtf, why are they here" singers except for Mark, and I could see any of these 4 winning it. Though I admit, I won't be as happy about an Aliyah win because she's still so young, and Lauren because I find her boring. Lauren reminds me of a 70's vocalist - great tone and control, lovely ballads - but little else.

Chris Blue was on fire tonight. I'll admit, I didn't think it was smart of him to start marketing himself as a Michael/Bruno artist, but after watching Rhythm Nation I was convinced. He has the whole package - vocal ability, charisma, stage presence, dance moves, etc. Just not sure that The Voice is the best platform for him, but then again, I don't know what is. To me, that was a Grammy worthy performance, and makes all the other guest artists the show has had over the past few weeks look like amateurs.

I like Jesse best, but I'm pulling for Chris to win and for him to actually have a career after this. I hope Jesse gets picked up by some touring band either as a guitarist or vocalist, and he continues in his genre. Aaliyah - I hope she gets picked up by a development team who can figure out the best place for her in the industry. She has a hell of a voice, but no clear identity - and sorry Gwen, but "tween" singer doesn't really work.
 

[endure]

6 hours ago, rollerblade said:

Carrie's showmanship inproved leaps and bounds after Idol.  Lauren could too with some stage training, if she wants to go that route.

 

7 hours ago, waving feather said:

Lauren is boring to watch because her stage presence is not great but she is the only artist I've bought songs from iTunes. Her voice is money. She is like Carrie Underwood on Idol. Great voice but stiff on stage. None of the others in top 4 have good enough voice for me to buy songs from. Chris is a great singer but is his voice beautiful enough for me to just listen again? Nope. The other singer this season that I will consider buying original music from is Hunter. He has some bad habits (I.e. enunciation) when performing but has a beautiful voice as well.

I too feel the same way about Lauren and Carrie and believe that Lauren will win because of her 'voice'.

I felt like Adam was doing an infomercial about Jesse.

I miss Hunter in the finale.

[Thorkim]

14 hours ago, Mr. R0b0t said:

While I really like Jesse's voice, I understand that its not everyone's cuppa tea.  He may be the best musician I've seen (I haven't seen every episode of the 12 seasons).  Lauren seems poised to win, but I find her oh so vanilla.  Wish Aaliyah had been on the show as a more mature singer.  Chris really did well on Diamonds and Pearls and of the original songs I found his the biggest earworm.

Overall a down season.  The fatal flaw of this show is no neutral judge(s) to critique the singers properly.  None of the judges want to be critical for fear it will effect them later.  All the singing shows suffer from limited song choices, which is why the blinds are so much fun because of the risks the singers take and the versatility of songs.

Agree 100%.  I am no expert, but have noticed a lot of "pitchiness" with contestants this year.  I knew the judges were still going to give tongue baths and not address these problems, or others.  I miss the days of American Idol with Simon, when he would give genuine constructive criticism, if needed.  I guess tonight, I will not fight my German shepherd puppy for a seat on my comfy recliner to watch the finale, he can just have it.  I will probably sit at my uncomfortable chair at my computer and just watch as needed.  Not a fan of anyone in particular in the finales, nor in the show this year.

[Noreaster]

I think there is definitely a Blake factor when it comes to voting.  He's a likable guy and he makes his contestants seem more likable. I suspect we wouldn't see so many comments this season about how adorable Aliyah is and how likable TSoul is if they were not on Blake's team.  

Then there is the country music factor.  The genre has seen very strong support on this show since season 4 and is probably never going away. Christian music too has become a bigger presence in recent seasons because of strong viewer appetite.  Just look at this season's finalists... last week, two performed Christian songs, one performed country, and then the fourth was sort of country (Jesse who did the Chris Stapleton songs). Actually it may be more accurate to put Jesse in the blues/soul/folk lane that we've seen more of recently... like Sawyer, Joshua Davis, Laith, etc.  Adam Wakefield and Sundance Head probably belong in this category too instead of country.    

I think this season's finalists are a lot weaker than last season's.  I didn't care for Sundance or Billy but they were really solid all around.  Both were very good vocalists and experienced performers.  We wasn't great because of her youth but I think she had some unique qualities that made her interesting (compared to Aliyah who is just too young to have much of an identity).  Josh's performances were whatever to me but he seemed like he was delivering effective performances for his lane (I think this is the bro-country stuff?). Actually I was surprised that a country contestant could get to the finals on a non-Blake team (since the other coaches have so little country knowledge) but that showed me just how popular this genre is on this show.  

Lauren is very similar to Danielle Bradbery to me.  If I were to just listen and not watch, I would enjoy them more.  Very pretty tones but so little stage presence.  Danielle was really young so her blank face and awkward movements were understandable.  Lauren has better facial expressions but otherwise is just so wooden.  And I have gotten so bored of her songs.  Ballad after ballad after ballad.  Perhaps if it was the earlier show format where the contestants sang multiple songs in episodes leading up to the final, we would see more variety and I could better appreciate her but under the current format, she is such a snooze.  I can't imagine listening to a full album from her and I definitely don't see myself going to one of her concerts.  I don't remember feeling this blah about previous country contestants.  

I guess my favorite this season is Jesse but his stage presence is not quite there.  He comes across like what I would expect given his background... he's a guitarist transitioning to being the frontman.  Thinking back a couple of seasons, I liked Laith's performances much more.  He was a very experienced professional who was comfortable singing and playing the guitar at the same time.  I felt very entertained by him even though I didn't think he had the best voice or anything.  For Jesse, perhaps I would appreciate him more if we were able to see a few more performances.  I actually think he was showing good growth and more confidence as the show went on.  

I never cared for Chris Blue.  Decent vocals but his performance skills are not good enough for his song choices.  I don't know his back story (I skipped a ton of stuff this season) but he comes across as relatively inexperienced to me.  Like there needed to be more refinement to his moves because they seemed too forced and not seamless enough.  Probably not a fair comparison but I think of how good Cody Belew was in season 3 when I felt thoroughly entertained.  For this season, I would have preferred Vanessa as an entertainer instead of Chris.  She was pretty solid overall though she also didn't end up as good as I hoped (not as good as Kimberly Nichole, Judith Hill, Amanda Brown).   

[Nalan]

Final voting closed an hour ago, but I couldn't post them because I was at my class.  So here are the results:

1. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "Déjà Vu"
2. Lauren Duski - Team Blake: "The Dance"
3. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Money on You"
5. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Woman"
7. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Never be Lonely"
9. Chris Blue - Team Alicia: "Rhythm Nation"
19. Lauren Duski & Blake Shelton: "There's a Tear in My Beer"
20. Chris Blue & Alicia Keys: "Diamonds and Pearls"
28. Jesse Larson - Team Adam: "Takin' it to the Streets"
29. Jesse Larson & Adam Levine: "Let's Go Crazy"
44. Aliyah Moulden - Team Blake: "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)"
45. Aliyah Moulden & Blake Shelton: "Dancing in the Street"

No huge changes.  The top five performances (both of Lauren's solos and Chris, Jesse, and Aliyah's originals) all remained constant (though apparently, Chris's original moved up to number two about an hour after closing).  Lauren's duet with Blake actually dropped by one spot, while Chris's duet with Alicia moved up one more place.  Jesse's cover and his duet with Adam remained constant, but Aliyah's cover and her duet with Blake both dropped.

Well, with Chris and Lauren both getting double multipliers, I think it's more or less going to come down to them.  So Aliyah and Jesse are going to be fighting for third and fourth.  Good luck to the obvious top two tonight!

[Court]

I liked Aliyah's original but didn't care for the other two songs. 

I loved both of Lauren's solos but not the duet.  

Didn't care for anything Jesse did. 

I thought I would enjoy Chris's original but only liked his cover. 

My preference for how they finish is Jesse, Aliyah, Chris, with Lauren winning.  I do think the winner is a toss up but I think the cumulative multiplier may give Lauren an edge. 

I also wouldn't be surprised of Aliyah is 4th. 

[Nedsdag]

Since the finale is an hour away, this should be short:

Congratulations, Lauren!