S12.E28: Live Finale, Part 2

[Nalan]

From TV Guide:

Host Carson Daly announces the winner.  Special performances include Chris Stapleton, Zedd, Alessia Cara, and returning coach Miley Cyrus.

Comment on the final results of season twelve here.  Still thinking either Chris or Lauren has this.  Aliyah and Jesse are almost certainly dead in the water.

[Diana Berry]

20 hours ago, Nalan said:

From TV Guide:

 

Comment on the final results of season twelve here.  Still thinking either Chris or Lauren has this.  Aliyah and Jesse are almost certainly dead in the water.

Please post the rundown of the winner and the spots of the others. I can't stay up for the finale.

Also, the tabloids (I know) said Blake was going to propose to Gwen on the finale but decided against it.  Please advise if that changes ( big grin).

Edited May 23, 2017 by Diana Berry

[Valny]

I was a little surprised Jesse left before Aliyah. I was pretty confident she'd be going first. but of course knew she'd be next to leave because it had to be Lauren and Chris left.

As of minutes before the end, I will be ok with either on winning, but I'm pulling for Lauren.

 

ETA-  whoa Chris!!  Congrats!!

Edited May 24, 2017 by Valny

[Mya Stone]

I am so incredibly happy for Chris, who I avidly voted for all season. 

[Nalan]

Well, I was mainly here to see (aside from the announcement of the winner) Hunter and Gwen's duet.  You know, the one they were robbed of having last night.  I think picking one of the songs that helped Gwen hit it big was the perfect choice for them.  They both sounded so beautiful together!

Also liked Brennley's performance with Rascal Flatts and Chris's performance with Usher.

Jesse was completely outclassed by CeeLo.  No surprise there.  And TSoul was just as completely outclassed by Gladys Knight.  Another non-surprise.  At least Vanessa was good during the performance.

Nice to see Miley, and I enjoyed her new song!  Also great to see incoming coach Jennifer!  She slayed that performance!

Didn't really miss Lilli not returning, but I did miss Troy and Stephanie coming back.

Okay.  Now the final results.

HA!  I knew it!  Aaaaaaaand Jesse continues the tradition of Instant-Saved finalists finishing fourth, which he deserves.  *Points and laughs at Adam and Jesse*  So where'd that pimping get you, huh, Adam?  Last place in the finals, like you deserve every season!

Aliyah comes in third despite having two of her performances charting significantly lower than the others on finale performance night.  Power of the app and Website votes, people.  Power of the app and Website votes.

And the winner . . . IS CHRIS!!!!!!!!  CONGRATULATIONS, CHRIS!  I know your style wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but you earned this win, no matter what anyone on this board says!  All of your song choices ranged from good to excellent, and you deserved this victory!  And congrats, Alicia!  Your first (and possibly only) win before you head off into the sunset!  She was an amazing coach to Chris and also deserves to get this win!  If Gwen couldn't win, then I'm extremely glad that Alicia did!  Congrats to both Chris and Alicia!  And congrats to our first black winner since season two!  And our first one-chair-turn winner, too!  And our second-ever winning female coach!  WHOOOOOOOO!

Lauren will be fine.  I think not winning will actually help her get her name and music out there more easily.  Chris actually needs the contract, while Lauren doesn't.  But I did enjoy her and think she's gonna be great someday.

For me, good season since one of the women won.  Would've been good, too, if Blake won, but "meh" or just plain bad if Adam had won.

See you all in the fall, along with Adam, Blake, Miley . . . and Jennifer!

Edited May 24, 2017 by Nalan

[Court]

I'm happy for Chris but was a bit surprised Lauren didn't win.

I don't think she needed the win, though.  I think she will be fine and will likely be on the radio soon. 

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Yippie skippie, another Voice winner who will disappear post-show :-) Say hi to Javier, Jermaine, Tessanne, Josh, Alisan, and Sawyer for us...

Blake will put his weight behind Lauren like he has with Danielle, RaeLynn and a few others...she'll get a fair shot (if her first couple of post-Voice songs aren't played on current country radio, I'll be shocked). Whether she pans out remains to be seen, but I give her better odds than almost anyone on this show since Danielle Bradbury)...

Really enjoyed Alessia Cara and Aliyah's performance, Brennley sounded really good (and gasp, age appropriate) singing with Rascal Flatts (his voice always weirds me out though, it always feels like he's an inch away from his vocals going off the rails), Lauren sounded good with LBT, Miley's new song is interesting...I haven't completely decided if I'm in or out on it.

Mark was the cutoff point, everyone from his 9th place finish got to come back and sing with a celebrity act...

Onward to S13...

[nextian]

Disappointed Lauren and Blake didn't win, but happy for Chris and Alicia, either would have been a deserving winner! Definitely happy to see another female coach win, no matter how much I love Blake. I really hope that Lauren gets a record deal and Blake takes her under his wing, I want to hear her on country radio. Good luck to Chris too, he's definitely a great performer!

[Dots And Stripes]

Ugh! Lauren was my all time favorite. I wanted the win for her. I'm sure Blake will help her figure out what's next. Adam finishing 4th is comforting though.

I could see Aliyah having a career down the line. She needs a few years, but she has so much going for her.

Random, but I was disappointed Gwen said something was bananas but didn't spell it.

[Nalan]

6 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Mark was the cutoff point, everyone from his 9th place finish got to come back and sing with a celebrity act...

Mark finished ninth?!  Those percentages during his final Instant Save pretty much showed Lilli had more tweets and retweets going on, not he.

[jjjmoss]

Surprised, given how Lauren dominated iTunes. Chris's fans must've been significantly higher outside of sales.

I think the producers are happy with how things turned out with an Alicia win.

After 12 seasons, Blake still has 50% of all T2 contestants. Quite impressive. (The others: 5 Adam, 2 Christina, 2 Usher, 1 Alicia, 1 CeeLo, 1 Pharrell. 0 each for Shakira/Miley/Gwen.)

Edited May 24, 2017 by jjjmoss

[Chyromaniac]

52 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Blake will put his weight behind Lauren like he has with Danielle, RaeLynn and a few others...she'll get a fair shot

State or County?

[PhD-Purgatory15]

Lolz. Hey man, even the highest caliber of music artists aren't too big to turn down a State fair gig. One of my first concerts I ever saw live was NKOTB at the 1989 Ohio State fair...

Nalan, yeah I guess the proper way to say it was that Lilli and Mark tied for 9th since we don't really know from that week. Hell Vanessa might have finished lower than them in the actual voting and then won the twitter vote. I guess we'll never know how those three were ordered that week...

Edited May 24, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[Padma]

1 hour ago, Nalan said:

HA!  I knew it!  Aaaaaaaand Jesse continues the tradition of Instant-Saved finalists finishing fourth, which he deserves.  *Points and laughs at Adam and Jesse*  So where'd that pimping get you, huh, Adam?  Last place in the finals, like you And the winner . . . IS CHRIS!!!!!!!!  CONGRATULATIONS, CHRIS!  I know your style wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but you earned this win, no matter what anyone on this board says!  All of your song choices ranged from good to excellent, and you deserved this victory!  And congrats, Alicia!  Your first (and possibly only) win before you head off into the sunset!  She was an amazing coach to Chris and also deserves to get this win!  If Gwen couldn't win, then I'm extremely glad that Alicia did!  Congrats to both Chris and Alicia!  And congrats to our first black winner since season two!  And our first one-chair-turn winner, too!  And our second-ever winning female coach!  WHOOOOOOOO!

Lauren will be fine.  I think not winning will actually help her get her name and music out there more easily.  Chris actually needs the contract, while Lauren doesn't.  But I did enjoy her and think she's gonna be great someday.

For me, good season since one of the women won. 

I liked Lauren and Jesse best for my own musical taste, but I agree completely with the above in terms of the show. Chris is a deserving winner, nice to see a black winner after all this time (wow, S2, time flies). And I'm glad Alicia logged a win (and for a woman). She was a good coach, worked well with Chris and both are deserving imo.

Plus, Lauren will get a bigger boost from Blake (probably touring or other help)  than from winning this show alone. If she could have a career, she has as good a chance today, because of Blake, as she would have if she won.  I expect her to be one of the show's successes.

Not my favorite season musically, but nice not to have a frontrunner and some anticipation at the end. (Glad Adam's "busing" didn't work out, too). Looking forward to Miley again, and Jennifer (but also to a break :) ).

[hks]

The whole season was meh for me, save for a few great moments.  And almost all of them belonged to Chris Blue.  As soon as he sang, "Love on the Brain" I was hoping he'd win. The winner is RARELY the person I want, so I am super happy about this.  I mean, Lauren winning wouldn't have pissed me off like some (most) past season winners.  She was very talented, and hers is the kind of country I enjoy.  (Her original song was impressive).  But Chris... just so incredibly talented.  I do think he can get further than a lot of other Voice winners.  I mean, his original song (which I didn't actually love, because it didn't do his voice justice), is catchy.  And I think Alicia is so in his corner, she will work hard to make him successful. I hope.  I am just glad I picked a winner this time - in a season where the winner wasn't telegraphed from the start.

[Nalan]

59 minutes ago, hks said:

And I think Alicia is so in his corner, she will work hard to make him successful. I hope.  I am just glad I picked a winner this time - in a season where the winner wasn't telegraphed from the start.

It's worth noting that Chris's win marks the end of a streak -- that of winners who were seen auditioning in the premieres of their seasons.  Sawyer, Jordan, Alisan, and Sundance all appeared in the season eight, nine, ten, and eleven premieres, respectively.  But Chris ends the streak by appearing in the seventh episode, the final Blind episode.

And yeah, I can absolutely see Alicia throwing her support behind him.  She's actually already doing wonders for Wé McDonald, Christian Cuevas, and Sa'Rayah (her top twelve team from last season), so I can see her working with Chris after the show to make sure he becomes successful.  For that matter, I can see her working with Vanessa, as well, and possibly Stephanie.

Edited May 24, 2017 by Nalan

[gingerandcloves]

Congratulations to Chris! It was a well-deserved win, IMHO. I've enjoyed his performances all season. Great voice and a true entertainer. Even though he's not necessarily the type of musical artist I prefer, I did feel that he had an extra panache and degree of professionalism that the other contestants couldn't quite measure up to.

[Cramps]

How refreshing to have a win that was unexpected, and especially one of someone who is so talented. As soon as Carson said the vote was so close, I thought, Wow, Chris may actually be about to win, despite all Lauren's iTunes successes. He really is one of the best entertainers who has ever been on the show. (And he and Alicia do flirt like crazy with each other...so much chemistry!)

That said, I think Lauren may end up being the most successful person to be on the Voice. With all the chart success she has had, her songwriting ability, and Blake behind her, she's bound to get a deal in Nashville. And with her voice she could go really far. They just need to work with her a bit on her stage presence. But Carrie Underwood had almost none on Idol and she's great now, so it can be developed. 

[TaraS1]

So happy for Chris!  And glad everyone got a car.

But I so wanted TSoul and Vanessa to get to sing Midnight Train to Georgia with Gladys lol

[ancslove]

Congratulations to Chris!  

Was Miley's the only Voice tribute to Manchester?  I'm a little surprised they didn't have an announcement at the beginning of the episode. I like her new song. It's not as instantly catchy as a lot of her previous hits, but it's pretty. 

[Noreaster]

Indifferent on the results.  Thought this was a weak bunch overall.  For the contestants' sake though, hopefully they can leverage this exposure and improve their careers.  Not sure about Lauren getting radio play and all the supposed help from Blake...people seem to say that about many many country contestants but Blake's resources are limited and he can only do so much.  For example, we haven't heard much from Adam Wakefield who only two seasons ago hit #1 on itunes with his original song on the show.  

For this episode, it felt very scaled back to me.  It almost seemed like the show didn't put much effort in the celebrities this time around and the duet pairings were less interesting. Nothing against them but we've seen some of them before (Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts) while a few slots were also given to present/former/future coaches.  I did enjoy seeing Usher a lot though. Also Chris Stapleton is great...I really do need to look up his music.  And I wouldn't have expected a reggaeton number to open up the show...that was interesting.

I miss the group bring backs.  The finalists seem to be getting much less air time overall.  It's cool that some of the other Top 12 contestants got to sing with celebrities but before it almost seemed like that was a prize exclusively for the finalists and now being a finalist is a little less special.  I think Mark Isaiah got to sing almost as much as them between his instant-saves and the celebrity performance.  

[SunnyBeBe]

Congratulations to Chris.  I was slow to warm up to him, but, was rooting for him towards the end.  Sad, that Bennley didn't take it, but, Chris is just fine. I hope he does well, but, to me, the big deal is the money win.  Anything other than that is just gravy. 

[Evagirl]

I don't know if Chris can sell records, but I do know he's a great entertainer.  I would buy a ticket to watch him perform live.  Buying one of his songs is a different matter.  His voice is not really unique.  Don't get me wrong, he can sing, but his true talent is performing.  I hope he does well.

[Rileyjo]

Am I misremembering but didn't the final show have the top four bring back former contestants to sing with them. Hope I'm not thinking of AI.  I loved when they did that. You coils kind of see who was friends and who respected the others.  Hoping I'm not hallucinating!

and good for Chris. I hope Alicia helps him out

[PhD-Purgatory15]

No, you're right. This is the first season that I can remember that didn't have the bring back group performances. A little disappointing, as it would've been the opportunity for a few of my favorites who bit the dust early on in the battles/or KOs to come back and sing again... (*pours one out for Sammie, Gaby, and Kenny P among others*)

Honestly, if he wants some level of sucess, I'd tell Chris to cut a CD that was heavily grounded in gospel/CCM songs (I think he said that Kirk Franklin is one of his favorite artists). I think he'd be more apt to find an audience there, than in whatever is passing for modern day R&B where I just don't think he's going to move the needle very much outside the context of the Voice...

Very interested to see how JHud blends on the panel with Adam, Miley and Blake. She has some early season Christina diva in her that was very apparent in the Voice UK season she just was a coach on..

Edited May 24, 2017 by PhD-Purgatory15

[ProudMary]

4 hours ago, ancslove said:

Was Miley's the only Voice tribute to Manchester?  I'm a little surprised they didn't have an announcement at the beginning of the episode. I like her new song. It's not as instantly catchy as a lot of her previous hits, but it's pretty. 

Carson did make an announcement about Manchester at the beginning of Monday night's episode while details were still unfolding.  

[Evagirl]

38 minutes ago, PhD-Purgatory15 said:

Honestly, if he wants some level of sucess, I'd tell Chris to cut a CD that was heavily grounded in gospel/CCM songs (I think he said that Kirk Franklin is one of his favorite artists).

You're right.  I would definitely buy his gospel music as long as it wasn't as pop-sounding as Kirk Franklin.  I like traditional gospel, so Kirk isn't my cup of tea.  However, I believe Chris can do traditional, contemporary and Christian rock without any problem.

[hks]

11 hours ago, Cramps said:

How refreshing to have a win that was unexpected, and especially one of someone who is so talented. As soon as Carson said the vote was so close, I thought, Wow, Chris may actually be about to win, despite all Lauren's iTunes successes. He really is one of the best entertainers who has ever been on the show. (And he and Alicia do flirt like crazy with each other...so much chemistry!)

They DID have so much chemistry - to the point I was actually worried how his fiance would feel when she saw all those clips and then their duet - holy smokes!  His fiance seeing that live - I wonder what that was like.  (Also, this is rampant speculation and silliness, but I didn't see him hug his fiance when she got on stage.  He hugged his family a bunch, but I never saw him go to her directly.  Did I miss it?)

[Nalan]

3 hours ago, hks said:

(Also, this is rampant speculation and silliness, but I didn't see him hug his fiance when she got on stage.  He hugged his family a bunch, but I never saw him go to her directly.  Did I miss it?)

Chris did hug his fiancee eventually.  He was a bit preoccupied collecting himself first.

[Magic]

Congratulations to Chris and Alicia!

Interesting that Lauren has stayed at Number 1 on iTunes and also is at Number 8 and Number 24.  Chris is at Number 3 and Number 35.  It might be a win win, in that Lauren will go on to bigger sales but Chris won and is a good entertainer and will make a good living going forward too.

[InfiniteMystery]

Am I the only one annoyed by Chris's performances?

After Monday's show, I was hoping for anyone to win over him - Lauren first, then Aliyah, then Jesse.

I honestly do think JChosen was eliminated early so Chris would have less direct competition. Sorry to go back to that as it's old news.

Some may say Alicia influenced Gwen, but, to choose Troy over JChosen was insanity given JChosen's success in the blinds and

up to that point. Remember how Alicia hid behind her chair and everyone loved J? So odd.

Meh season. Meh ending. 

Congrats to Chris and Alicia.

I think Lauren will have the most success out of this bunch.

Edited May 24, 2017 by InfiniteMystery

[viajero]

I'm really happy that Chris won.  This is the first time ever that the person I was most rooting for during the season actually won and only the second time my preferred finalist won (the first being Cassadee in Season 3).

One thing I found interesting about this result is that for once the person who dominated in YouTube views beat the person who dominated in iTunes downloads.  This has often not been the case in the past.

10 hours ago, Noreaster said:

For this episode, it felt very scaled back to me.  It almost seemed like the show didn't put much effort in the celebrities this time around and the duet pairings were less interesting. Nothing against them but we've seen some of them before (Little Big Town, Rascal Flatts) while a few slots were also given to present/former/future coaches.  I did enjoy seeing Usher a lot though. Also Chris Stapleton is great...I really do need to look up his music.  And I wouldn't have expected a reggaeton number to open up the show...that was interesting.

I miss the group bring backs.  The finalists seem to be getting much less air time overall.  It's cool that some of the other Top 12 contestants got to sing with celebrities but before it almost seemed like that was a prize exclusively for the finalists and now being a finalist is a little less special.  I think Mark Isaiah got to sing almost as much as them between his instant-saves and the celebrity performance.  

They did have 3 current or recent chart toppers.  "Despacito" is currently No. 1 not only in the US, but pretty much worldwide.  Meanwhile both of Alessia Cara's songs have reached near the top of the Hot 100 in recent months.  This doesn't even count the country performers you mention, who have all topped the country charts.

Which reminds me, I would have thought you were crazy if you had told me beforehand that one of my favorite performances of the Finale would include Mark Isaiah as the featured contestant.   Mark actually sounded good in Spanish, even if he repeated Justin Beiber's mispronunciation of the word "laberinto".

Other performances I really enjoyed were Chris & Usher, Gwen & Hunter, Zedd & Alessia, and Jennifer Hudson.  Lauren & Brennely also did a fairly good job in singing with Little Big Town and Rascal Flatts respectively.

Finally, I also really missed the group bring-back performances.  Those have produced some great performances in the past.

[Noreaster]

47 minutes ago, viajero said:

They did have 3 current or recent chart toppers.  "Despacito" is currently No. 1 not only in the US, but pretty much worldwide.  Meanwhile both of Alessia Cara's songs have reached near the top of the Hot 100 in recent months.  This doesn't even count the country performers you mention, who have all topped the country charts.

That's true they had recent chart-toppers but what was missing for me was the interesting celebrities from past finalists' wish lists... like Kiss last season for Sundance Head, Celine Dion for Tessanne Chin, etc.  Celebrities who were not just there to promote their latest singles.  Those duets were more fun and felt like a reward for the finalists.  Maybe the change has to do with money and cost-cutting?  Does the show have to pay for these celebrities and not for those who have something to promote?  I guess Gladys Knight was a good one this season and was possibly on TSoul's or Vanessa's wish list.  But almost all the others had been on the show before and therefore didn't feel like contestant choices to me.  I could be wrong of course.  

[TheGreenKnight]

I didn't watch any of this season before the finale because I find Alicia/Gwen both so dull, and I've never particularly felt either way about Blake/Adam although their camaraderie has clearly worked for the show. I wanted to see Jennifer Hudson more than anything else. I know she performed, but I thought for sure they'd have a recorded skit for the Fall season like they usually do. The little I heard of the top 4, I didn't like any of them, tbh. Too bad Alessia Cara couldn't have performed "Scars..." solo. I guess I'm glad to see Alicia win before leaving, although I would've rather she'd won with Christian or We last season.

I'm looking forward to seeing the next season. Miley has the perfect personality for this show and I've always been a fan of JHUD. I wonder if Usher performing last night might mean he's considering returning to The Voice the season Kelly Clarkson (who I love) debuts? The two of them together would be fantastic. If not him, I hope one of Miley/JHUD/Christina fills the last seat and not Gwen or Pharrell.

Edited May 25, 2017 by TheGreenKnight

[viajero]

5 hours ago, Noreaster said:

That's true they had recent chart-toppers but what was missing for me was the interesting celebrities from past finalists' wish lists... like Kiss last season for Sundance Head, Celine Dion for Tessanne Chin, etc.  Celebrities who were not just there to promote their latest singles.  Those duets were more fun and felt like a reward for the finalists.  Maybe the change has to do with money and cost-cutting?  Does the show have to pay for these celebrities and not for those who have something to promote?  I guess Gladys Knight was a good one this season and was possibly on TSoul's or Vanessa's wish list.  But almost all the others had been on the show before and therefore didn't feel like contestant choices to me.  I could be wrong of course.  

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree since I'd much rather see current artists who are actually bringing something interesting to the music scene rather than played out ageing former stars living off people's nostalgia, most of whom I never much liked in the first place back when they were at the height of their popularity.  Rather than trot out another Kiss or Celine Dion for the umpteenth time, I'd much rather watch someone like Alessia Cara, an unpretentious teen from a Toronto suburb who is redefining what it means to be a modern pop star with her unique earnest expressive voice, toned down comfortable style, killer laid back beats and often surprisingly sophisticated lyrics that actually directly relate to the experiences of her generation.   Or Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee who are conquering the world with their fusion of Reggaeton and current pop, with a dash of Bachata on the side (a perfect antidote to the overly formulaic electronic dance music of the likes of PSY).

[Nalan]

7 hours ago, TheGreenKnight said:

I wonder if Usher performing last night might mean he's considering returning to The Voice the season Kelly Clarkson (who I love) debuts? The two of them together would be fantastic. If not him, I hope one of Miley/JHUD/Christina fills the last seat and not Gwen or Pharrell.

No, Usher isn't returning anytime soon, and Gwen won't be on season fourteen.  She'll either be back in season fifteen or sixteen, most likely (assuming the show gets those seasons).

9 hours ago, InfiniteMystery said:

I honestly do think JChosen was eliminated early so Chris would have less direct competition. Sorry to go back to that as it's old news.

Some may say Alicia influenced Gwen, but, to choose Troy over JChosen was insanity given JChosen's success in the blinds and up to that point. Remember how Alicia hid behind her chair and everyone loved J? So odd.

It was a thought that JChosen got screwed over by a production decision to clear Chris's lane (and I think Gwen's HUGE hesitation before what had to be reluctantly sending him packing might give some weight to that), but then again, if that were true, why didn't they also make sure that Blake didn't save TSoul, who was also in that lane?

As much as that does weigh on my mind, I do think that Gwen really did listen to Alicia instead of her own gut.  Though if it really was the producers who got in her ear even before Alicia did, then doubly shame on them.

[Noreaster]

5 hours ago, viajero said:

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree since I'd much rather see current artists who are actually bringing something interesting to the music scene rather than played out ageing former stars living off people's nostalgia, most of whom I never much liked in the first place back when they were at the height of their popularity.  Rather than trot out another Kiss or Celine Dion for the umpteenth time, I'd much rather watch someone like Alessia Cara, an unpretentious teen from a Toronto suburb who is redefining what it means to be a modern pop star with her unique earnest expressive voice, toned down comfortable style, killer laid back beats and often surprisingly sophisticated lyrics that actually directly relate to the experiences of her generation.   Or Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee who are conquering the world with their fusion of Reggaeton and current pop, with a dash of Bachata on the side (a perfect antidote to the overly formulaic electronic dance music of the likes of PSY).

They had plenty of current artists in the past and I liked them too.  I also enjoyed the specific two that you mentioned this season (they were very good fits for the younger Aliyah and Mark).  Just missing the couple or so where the older finalists got to sing with their idols or really big stars.  Maybe the show just couldn't get them this year or the ones they got were for non-finalists hence the format for this finale.  

On a separate note, do you remember season 5 when Will Champlin's wife got pissed off and posted some really rude tweets about NBC or the producers during the finale? Tessanne got Celine Dion, Jacquie Lee got Paramour, and then Will got Aloe Blacc.....  Clearly not someone on Will's wish list (though it was a very current, arguably overplayed, song).  

Edited May 25, 2017 by Noreaster

[TheGreenKnight]

9 hours ago, Nalan said:

No, Usher isn't returning anytime soon, and Gwen won't be on season fourteen.  She'll either be back in season fifteen or sixteen, most likely (assuming the show gets those seasons).

Is there a source for either of those things? Just wondering.

[Noreaster]

Usher also performed a few seasons ago in a finale duet with Jordan Smith so I don't think it means anything.  I think he probably just has an open invitation to come back and perform on the show whenever.  Or maybe the show couldn't get enough celebrities this season and their backup options are former coaches like Usher and Cee Lo.  

Conference call transcript with Chris Blue: http://starrymag.com/chris-blue-the-voice/

[backformore]

This season was underwhelming to me, I just wasn't excited about any of the singers.  I did like Chris, though, and I'm happy he won. 

As to the finale- I thought it was well done. with the glaring exception of the Jesse/Cee-lo number.  I couldn't get past Cee-lo's fringey outfit, and I thought having a bunch of girls in very scanty outfits gyrating on the stage was a bit much.  Tacky.