Entertainment

'The Voice' Finalists Fight For the Win

by Kristie Rohwedder

I'm proud of us. We've made it to The Voice finals. We are live. You know when your professor said, "It's about the journey, not the destination" to calm you down while you were stressing over that last exam? And how that comment almost pushed you to drop that class then and there with two days left in the semester because WHAT?! and who the hell actually says that?! Because everyone knows your transcripts won't reflect the journey. Your transcripts will show each destination, aka, your final grades. Grades are the destination. That is how I'm feeling right now. I just want to know who's going to win Season 5 of The Voice. I know I've put a lot of time and energy into this show, but I don't care about any of that. I want the answers. I want the destination. I want what's going on the transcripts.

The show started with a coaches plus Def Leppard performance of "Pour Some Sugar On Me." Initially, it made me want to watch Burlesque, because I thought the song was in that movie. I was wrong. The song was in Rock of Ages. Christina Aguilera was in Burlesque, so I think that's why my mind was stuck on that movie. OKAY who wants to watch Burlesque and Rock of Ages? Movie marathon party!

Carson Daly was all sorts of fired up for the finale. He excitedly explained the format: Each of the three finalists would sing their blind audition song, a duet with their respective coach, and a bonus song. Hey Carson? I wrote down the episode format for reference, but I anticipated that you might switch up the rules at any minute. I was prepped for an "AND NOW FOR A SURPRISE INSTANT SAVE" moment. It never happened, but just know that I was ready.

The Blind Audition Performances

Tessanne Chin singing "Try": I'm the screechiest, most broken record at this point, but JEEZ, TESSANNE. Every time. In the pre-performance intro video, Adam Levine said, "Tessanne, I love you so much and I'm proud of you." I've recorded that and doctored it so it sounds like he's saying "Kristie" in place of "Tessanne." I've made it my text message notification sound.

Will Champlin singing "Not Over You": I'm so glad the coaches heard what his voice is capable of when he auditioned with this. This song didn't grab me during the Blind Auditions, and it didn't grab me Monday night, but hey! That's okay. As ambivalent about the song as I might've been, I still thought he sounded great, and that's all that matters. He's stellar. Also, his baby was fast asleep in the audience. Again. No amount of cheering or screaming will disturb that child. "Sleeping like a baby," some may say.

Jacquie Lee singing "Back to Black": This was awesome. Jacquie lost her damn mind during the final chorus, and I was INTO it. Xtina was feeling the performance as well, and I knew this because she was doing her "I'm feeling this" shimmy throughout. However, the band was cracking me up. They were dressed up like A Hard Day's Night Beatles and the guitarists were REALLY swinging their bodies back and forth. The guitarists' movements were synchronized. It was so weird.

The Coach Duets

  • Tessanne and Adam singing "Let It Be."
  • Jacquie and Xtina singing "We Remain."
  • Will and Adam singing "Tiny Dancer."

The coach duets were cute. There was a final three performance of "I'll Be There." It, like the coach duets, was cute.

The "LET'S DO THIS" performances

Tessanne Chin singing "I Have Nothing": You don't step up to the Whitney Houston plate unless you can confidently hit the ball over the back wall of the park. But you know what? I believed in Tessanne. She hadn't let me down this season, so I felt confident she'd do this justice. Holy smokes. Sometimes, I love when I'm right. SHE DID IT. This was just… I can't think straight. My brain is mashed potatoes now.

Will Champlin singing "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You": This was absolutely beautiful. The song ended with him in the crowd singing to his wife and daughter and I turned into Ms. Waterworks. And yes, his precious baby did wake up for this moment. And she didn't cry. I thought babies always cry at loud noises? Obviously, I know a lot about babies. Anyway, his baby is very darling.

Jacquie Lee singing "And I'm Telling You": Okay. There were moments that had me going "uh oh," but overall, it was incredibly impressive. Like, when she belted out some crazy notes and then held them out for 75 minutes? I broke a sweat just watching it. UGH, Jacquie. So good. Xtina and I were losing it.

Who do I think will win? Don't put my feet to that fire. Come on. I really can't decide. I love them all. Don't make me do this. So mean! Okay, okay. If I have to pick someone, I'll say… CHER.

Image: NBC