Naturally, with Part 1 of The Voice finale upon us, this episode featured a bit of a look back on how the contestants got to where they are. We heard about the journey they’ve been on as they looked to the future, singing their hearts out in an attempt to win the competition and score a record deal.
For Koryn Hawthorne’s first performance, she chose an overdone song on reality competition shows, which I initially thought might hurt her. She came out and gave it everything she had, though, truly showing the transition she’s made since the start of the show. Her vocals were on point as the emotion of the song poured out of her. At the beginning of the competition, I never would have expected to see Koryn in the finals but now I can’t imagine the finale without her.
Meghan Linsey came out swinging with an original song, the first contestant to ever perform a song they wrote on The Voice. Blake believes that this will be a great launching point for her career as a solo artist, highlighting how different her journey has been than any other contestant. Because she was singing her own song, she was able to emotionally connect even more than usual. Lyrically and musically, the song was powerful and interesting, giving a taste of what we might expect from her after the competition.
Sawyer Fredericks was the first to sing with his coach, Pharrell, but the performance left a lot to be desired. They picked an older song and the arrangement felt odd, with the band drowning out their voices. They were both reaching for notes that they couldn’t find, and overall, the performance had a weird vibe to it. Thankfully, Sawyer had two other chances last night to show America why he deserves to win The Voice.
It became clear that Meghan wouldn’t be the only one introducing an original single last night, as Joshua Davis too had been working on a song for awhile. His song speaks to working class America, bringing a message of hope and hard work to the audience. While it may not be something everyone can connect to, most were likely at least inspired by the message behind it, realizing that there are many people who have gone through the working class struggle he’s talking about. Joshua nailed the performance, showing America that he really is a singer/songwriter.
Unlike Meghan and Joshua, Sawyer’s first single wasn’t written by him, but it was penned the next best person: his idol, Ray LaMontagne. The song is perfect for Sawyer’s raspy vocals as he brings a sincerity to it that only he seems to be able to do. This is the first single out of the three that I could actually see becoming a hit and that should benefit Sawyer when it comes to iTunes downloads. Sawyer has been a frontrunner from the beginning, and that song may have just sealed the deal for him.
In a duet with his second remaining team member, Pharrell took the stage with Koryn, performing another questionable song and with another odd arrangement. Koryn did what she could with it, but the song clearly wasn’t in her wheelhouse and the only thing it accomplished was making them both sound worse than they actually are. Pharrell has had a successful season, being the only coach in the finale with two team members, but he might want to work a little harder on picking good songs for his contestants.
Following in Koryn’s footsteps, Joshua also picked a highly popular song that has been featured in many singing competitions. There’s been better renditions of “Hallelujah,” but no one can deny that there is something special to Joshua’s gentle tone. His simple version of a classic should do well on the charts as he delivered a heartfelt and compelling performance.
Next up, we got to hear duets from Meghan and Blake as well as Adam and Joshua. The whole night could have benefited from letting the contestants sing their third song by themselves, as in every case they outshined their coaches. All the song choices were incredibly disorienting, leaving us wondering what the coaches were thinking. I doubt these duets will have any influence on the votes as they were clearly the weakest part of the night. I understand the desire to feature the contestants singing with their coaches, but the implementation was just messy.
Koryn’s original song was written by Pharrell, who had been working on it for a while but was finally inspired by Koryn to finish it. It almost felt as though Pharrell was trying to sabotage his team last night, first with the duets and then by giving this song to Koryn. She did everything she could with it but even she couldn’t hide the fact that it isn’t a very good song. Unfortunately, this is the song that will count for her on iTunes and that might be her downfall.
Meghan’s personal transformation was highlighted in her final song choice of the night, showing how far she has come since the blind auditions when she was still hurt from a past relationship. She is now happily in a relationship and is proud to let everyone know it. Meghan came out with one of her best performances ever, highlighting everything that is great about her voice. Just like we could feel her heartbreak in the past, we can now feel the passion behind her performance of “When A Man Loves A Woman.” I couldn’t be happier to see Meghan’s personal and professional journey on this show come to such a fantastic conclusion.
Listening to Sawyer talk about his journey on the show, I’m not sure how much he actually cares about winning, which makes him even more endearing. For Sawyer, it isn’t even remotely about the fame and fortune that could come from this. He simply loves to sing and would be happy doing that whether he was on his farm or in front of millions of people. Something Sawyer said last night sums up who he is as an artist. He may not have gone through any of the experiences he sings about, but he can understand how someone going through them might feel. It’s because of this compassion that he is such an emotional performer, and it is why America fell in love with him.
So who will win this season of The Voice? If I had to base my guess off of how the whole season has gone, I’d say Sawyer Fredericks has the best chance. Personally, I’d love to see Meghan Linsey take it all but it isn’t up to only me. Everyone came out last night with some incredible performances, making the decision a difficult one for America.
[Photo credit: Tyler Golden/NBC]
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