What a night of performances! The final four contestants fought hard for the win, but who did enough to be crowned The Voice of season 7?
Each contestant performed three times tonight: one last awesome cover song, one duet with their coach, and one brand spankin’ new original song! It was a big night, with a lot of great performances, so let’s get right down to it.
Covers
Damien
Damien was the first performer to take the stage, with a performance of Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You.” Adam chose this song for him, because it’s pure and emotional, and “everything that Damien is, this song reflects.” He wandered through the audience for much of the performance, with the audience’s hands waving this-close to his face. It didn’t seem to throw him off. Damien has a beautiful voice, and it was a beautiful, simple arrangement that really showcased that voice. It was no Elliott Yamin, but it was still really good.
Craig Wayne Boyd
Craig performed Alabama’s “In Pictures,” which was a very emotional performance for him. As a single parent, he’s been spending a lot of time away from his son Jax, which is obviously very difficult. You could hear the emotion in Craig’s voice during the performance, and if it didn’t bring a tear to your eye, then obviously you have a heart of stone. What a beautiful, heartfelt, performance from a dad to his son.
Chris Jamison
Adam made possibly his greatest decision ever in selecting Justin Timberlake’s “Cry Me a River” for Chris Jamison’s final competitive performance on The Voice. Chris is a JT in the making, with a falsetto that won’t quit, and his performance was amazing. He made the song his own, making it rock a little bit harder, while still being just as cutting, sexy, and satisfying. Chris said that JT defines who he would like to be as an artist, and this performance made that very clear.
Matt McAndrew
What a great performance to end the night on. Matt McAndrew sang the classic, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a song which Adam Levine said “is not to be touched, unless it’s by someone who sings like Matt.” For such a goofy, silly, rocker dude, Matt gave a sweet and heartfelt performance of the American classic. Sure, he was dressed like a magician, and sure, there was a mysterious galaxy floating above his head, and sure, his last note was a little rough. But you know what? This is The Voice, where everything is wonderful, and sometimes, the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
Coach Duets
Chris Jamison and Adam Levine
It took less then a second to realize that Robin Thicke’s “Lost Without U” was the perfect choice for a Chris Jamison/Adam Levine duet. Good lord. Adam introduced the performance in a video package, where he said of the performance, “We’re gonna kill it,” because there would be “falsetto all over the place.” Well, consider us dead. They were adorable twinsies for this performance, both dressed all in black, sitting in the same exact position on their neighboring stools.
Craig Wayne Boyd and Blake Shelton
No one makes best friendships with his contestants the way Blake does on The Voice. You could tell he was so excited to sing “Boots On” with Craig Wayne Boyd, by their mutual friend Randy Hauser. It was an upbeat, fun, real country song, and Craig and Blake got a chance to rock out with their guitars and have an absolute blast. Blake even said in his intro package that he was “selfishly excited to sing with someone that’s as powerful a singer” as Craig.
Damien and Adam Levine
Adam chose Elton John’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” for his duet with Damien. He chose it because it is the most deeply emotional song he could think of, and he cannot stress enough every five seconds how deeply emotional Damien is. That said, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with such a beautiful song. They had some really beautiful harmonies throughout, and overall, Damien and Adam did Elton proud with this one.
Matt McAndrew and Adam Levine
What a coincidence that Adam chose his song “Lost Stars” from his recent movie “Begin Again” for his performance with Matt. It was a great performance that allowed them to do plenty of awkward guitar dancing and bopping. However, it was a pretty self-indulgent performance for Adam. He outshone Matt, not necessarily because he was better, but because he was more familiar with the song, and took all the best parts for himself. Matt still sounded good, and his plaid jacket was charming, but this performance is unlikely to earn him any votes.
Original Songs
Not only have The Voice finalists already recorded their original songs, but they’ve already shot the cover art, AND filmed music videos. Must have been a busy busy week at Voice HQ. The good news, for us as viewers, is that these music videos are absolutely, ridiculously terrible. Sometimes, it’s nice to laugh at the complete insanity that is reality television. Enjoy both the live performances and the silly music videos below.
Craig Wayne Boyd
It’s time for a Craig Wayne Boyd original! Blake was kind enough to give Craig a song he’d never recorded, called “My Baby’s Got a Smile On Her Face.” Blake never recorded it, because it’s too hard for him to sing, but he felt Craig could handle it without a problem. That proved to be pretty accurate, as Craig’s performance was a breeze. Definitely a bit more of a risqué song than we’ve heard from CWB so far in this competition, and not the most remarkable of tunes, but he is so likeable and talented it doesn’t really matter.
Matt McAndrew
Matt McAndrew debuted his original song, “Wasted Love.” Adam felt the song would combine everything that Matt does well, and Matt was excited that this song would rely on his own artistry to sell, rather than covering another artist’s hit. Well this performance proved Matt has got artistry for days. There was a choir, there was a flaming stage, and still, Matt’s performance shown through. He gave the performance his all, and when the lyrics called for him to “pound the pavement” he LITERALLY POUNDED THE PAVEMENT. Adam basically said it was the greatest song he’d ever heard in his entire life, which is pretty extreme, but it was one of Matt’s more show-stopping performances, which is saying a lot.
Chris Jamison
Uh, wow. Chris Jamison’s original song was called “Velvet,” and as soon as Adam said that, you had to have an idea of where this was headed, and that’s exactly where it went. Adam described the song as a cross between Michael Jackson and Bruno Mars, and that’s pretty accurate, but I think it would be appropriate to throw some Prince in there as well. And as if crooning his very own “Little Red Corvette” wasn’t sexy enough, they upped the sex quotient by putting Chris is some very blue, VERY tight pants.
Damien
Damien is an emotional performer. Has Adam Levine mentioned that yet? Well, Adam chose the song “Soldier” by Max Martin, who is pretty much responsible for every hit song you’ve ever heard, because he felt the strong emotional message was a good fit for Damien. Well, he was right. It was a more upbeat song than a lot of Damien’s performances, but it was powerful, and Damien obviously connected with it, making it one of his best performances, personality-wise.
Stay tuned for the reveal of The Voice season 7 winner, with the jam-packed results show airing Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC.