Blake Shelton had quite the birthday celebration last night, as the season 4 winner of The Voice was announced as part of a night of star-studded performances.
Blake Shelton sure knows how to pick ’em, winning a threepeat on his birthday, as Danielle Bradbery was named the winner of season four of The Voice. Usher’s Michelle Chamuel took second place, and Blake’s other horse in the finale race, The Swon Brothers, took third.
Danielle looked beautiful in a dramatic pink gown as host Carson Daly read the results, but she couldn’t quite seem to wrap her head around the idea that she’d won. She was supposed to sing her solo song from last night, Sara Evan’s “Born To Fly,” after her win, but she only got a few lines in before she gave up. She was crying, but she was more so just completely shocked and speechless.
New friends Usher and Blake held hands as the results were read, each hoping their contestant would be the winner. Once Danielle’s name was read, Blake bounded up onstage, sharing a huge bear hug with Danielle’s dad. Blake has really taken Danielle under his wing, and as big a fan as he is of hers, there’s no doubt he’ll use every bit of power he has to help her hit it big in Nashville.
Guest Performances
Christina Aguilera returned to The Voice stage to kick of the season 4 finale, performing “Feel This Moment” with Pitbull. It was a great performance to start off the show, getting the crowd pumped up for what was to come. Christina looked and sounded great, and Pitbull, as always, looked like the host of the greatest party ever.
Christina shared a lot of moments with the judges, waving and gesturing happily towards them during the performance. It was a great preview of the sort of love/hate interactions we have to look forward to when she returns to her big red chair for season 5 this fall.
Florida Georgia Line performed their summer anthem “Cruise” with Nelly, and had the whole crowd loving it. It was a great gig for newcomers FGL, and perhaps nerves were to blame for the fact that they followed each other so closely around the stage that it looked like they were attached at the hip. It was great to see Nelly back in the spotlight again, and Usher and Shakira were loving his performance.
Bruno Mars’ performance of “Treasure” was pre-taped last month, before his mother’s untimely death, and it was great to see him so happy and energetic. He always delivers a solid performance, and this one was no different. This particular performance was disco-tastic, with he and his Hooligans in matching red suits, leopard-print shirts, and gold chains, surrounded by giant disco balls.
HOLY CRAP CHER. There is no describing Cher’s hair, except maybe like a bird flew into a power line, and fell onto her head. Good for her for showing off her tummy at age 67, but the drop-crotch pants and jacket made of mirrors kind of ruined it. Cher’s known for her outrageous style, but this time it was hard to focus on her performance past all the craziness. Once there, though, she sounded phenomenal, as always. Classic Cher, with that distinctive voice, belting out her new girl power anthem, “Woman’s World.”
Contestants’ Performances
“Bring back” performances
For their bring back performance, The Swon Brothers chose to bring back all their country cronies: Team Blake’s Justin Rivers and Holly Tucker, and Team Adam’s Amber Carrington. Their performance of Lady Antebellum’s “Stars Tonight” was fun, and an appropriate choice, as they really are all stars tonight.
Danielle chose three all-American girls: Amber Carrington, Caroline Glaser, and Sarah Simmons, to join her for Carrie Underwood’s “All-American Girl.” The girls looked cute in their coordinating dresses, and all sounded great together. Unfortunately, the choreography was super awkward and forced, and Sarah wasn’t even onstage for the beginning of the performance, and rushed out for her part.
Michelle reunited Team Usher for her bring back performance, with Josiah Hawley, Vedo, and Cathia joining her onstage to perform Stevie Wonder’s version of The Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out.” All sporting their coach’s signature red shoes, the team had a real camaraderie, and it was great to see them getting along so well, even after some of them have been gone so long. They gave life to Usher’s catchphrase, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”
Celebrity duets
Finalist Michelle Chamuel joined One Republic to perform their hit “Counting Stars,” and in light of this slight setback of not winning The Voice, a good fallback for Michelle might be to join One Republic, because her voice sounds great with lead singer Ryan Tedder’s. They were evenly matched, and if you didn’t know better, you would think they were both pros.
The Swon Brothers joined the legendary Bob Seger to perform his classic hit, “Night Moves.” The Swons sounded great, and fit right in with the legendary Seger. The three men traded lines, and sounded like they had been singing together for years. Colton, in particular, sounded the best he has all season. As huge Bob Seger fans, this was a big moment for the Swons.
Danielle Bradbery and Hunter Hayes are both so adorable, it was almost painful to watch their performance of Hayes’ “I Want Crazy,” what with all the smiling. If they don’t fall in love and get married, it will be a huge disappointment to everyone. Both artists sounded great, Danielle at home onstage with a pro, and Hayes stepping out from behind his standard piano, bouncing around the stage in a super energetic performance.
Top 16 group performances
This season’s contestants Garrett Gardner, Josiah Hawley, Kris Thomas, and Vedo did their Motown best for a performance of The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg.” All four men sounded great and looked snazzy in their suits, as they executed their perfect choreography. But the big surprise of the number was a sweet sax solo from Holly Tucker. Usher loved the performance so much he was practically mom-dancing in his seat.
Season 4’s divas Cathia, Karina Iglesias, Judith Hill, and Sasha Allen returned to the stage to perform En Vogue’s “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)”. A super sassy song for some super sassy ladies, it was a perfect choice, and they all sounded great. Maybe if they had sounded this great all along, they wouldn’t have been eliminated so soon. They killed it on the breakdown, in particular.
Fun and Games
There may be trouble in Voice paradise, as Adam and Blake’s legendary bromance is being threatened by the introduction of new coach Usher into the mix. The bros haven’t been as lovey-dovey this season as they have been in past seasons, and Blake’s been throwing a lot of love Usher’s way. But a bromance that strong can survive anything, proven later by Adam sitting on Blake’s lap.
Usher’s been getting all the credit for his unconventional coaching techniques this season, but apparently Blake’s quite the creative genius as well. As a birthday tribute, they showed Blake putting his contestants through the ringer: singing with Shake Weights, looking into funhouse mirrors, and catching notes with chopsticks, Karate Kid style.
The Voice Confessional segments have been pretty entertaining all season, and for the finale we got a look at some extra funny bits they had to cut. We learned that Colton Swon once got a perm to look like Matthew McConaughey, Usher splits his pants all the time, Shakira wanted to steal Cee Lo’s bird, and Adam’s hands, feet, and ears are perfect, just like the rest of him.
Shakira may be Colombian, and speak English as a second language, but she seems to have mastered it more than most native speakers. Throwing around words like “diaphanous,” “didactic,” and “juxtaposition,” she had all the other coaches baffled, which was proven when they tried to spell or define the words. Blake did give it a valiant and creative effort, however.
We got a glimpse at a day in the life of the finalists, which starts early at 7am, and includes time in hair and makeup, wardrobe, rehearsing with coaches, final rehearsal on stage, photo shoots, and in this case, a free car.
Carson surprised them at what they thought was a photo shoot, but was actually just Carson surprising them with their new cars, courtesy of The Voice sponsor Kia. Danielle, in particular, appreciated this offering, considering she doesn’t even have her driver’s license yet. She’s been a little too busy stealing America’s hearts.
In one final Voice Confessional, the finalists and remaining coaches were asked what it would mean to them to win The Voice this season. In summary: It would mean a lot. It would be a dream come true for all of the contestants, and they want to win it for their friends and family at home, and for their coaches as well.
The coaches would just be thrilled to see their contestants standing onstage, crowned the winner, after all of their hard work. Usher, in particular, got choked up at the thought of Michelle winning.
Tune in to NBC in September when Christina and Cee Lo will be back for season 5!
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