The Voice Final Performances — Duets win the day

Update: Check the bottom of the post for the updated iTunes chart positions at the close of voting.

First, an apology: I’m sorry I missed last week’s post … my (delayed) flight didn’t have WIFI or – more of a challenge – live television. In fact, I never got around to watching last week’s performances (though I did check out the tracks on iTunes). I can’t say that I was particularly surprised that Kristen Merlin or Kat Perkins were sent home (though Merlin’s “Foolish Games” might have been her best performance of the entire season). The competition was at the point the week before where everyone has the talent to win, now it is simply (and perhaps sadly) just a popularity context.

The final three this season do make for interesting television. As Blake pointed out in the intro, the group consists of a returnee from a previous season (Jake), a player who was Stolen after being sent home (Josh) and a player who was the beneficiary of an Instant Save (Christina). Each is a great performer and each is insanely popular. I think that it’s going to come down to song choice: what singer/song choice is going to chart best on iTunes and get those fans voting like crazy.

Christina Grimmie: “Wrecking Ball” (Miley Cyrus) – Team Adam

I’m a little surprised this was the song that fans choose to bring back from Grimmie’s performances this season. I would have assumed that some of her more recent covers – specifically the cool takes on R&B tracks – would have been more popular. More over, I don’t think it is a song that really allows Grimmie to show off. Until the end of the song, it isn’t nearly as demanding – as you want a song in a competition like this. Blake, however, wasn’t surprised at all (basically because there’s enough of those big notes … I disagree).

Josh Kaufman & Usher: “Every Breath You Take” (The Police)

These coach/contestant duets have always been mixed bag for me over the years. As much money as I’ve been sucked into spending on iTunes, I think I’ve only purchased one of them in the past (Javier and Adam, in case you were wondering). I have a feeling that this is going to be an exception to that rule. This is a song I love to hear covered, and Josh and Usher did wonderful job. Their vocals were great, but more importantly they matched incredibly well.

Jake Worthington: “Don’t Close Your Eyes” (Keith Whitley)
Jake has been his best when he pulls from Country’s yesteryear (a statement that doesn’t always hold true for Blake’s Country singers – I’m looking at you Swon Brothers). His Blind Audition performance of one of Keith Whitley’s classic “Don’t Close Your Eyes” was second only to his cover of Travis Tritt’s “Anymore.” After watching his Final performance here, however, I barely remember the first. Jake owned this performance. Shakira says that Jake has “gained credibility” this season, a spot on assessment. He’s also gained confidence, something that I think could lead to Jake being one of the The Voice’s success stories even if he doesn’t win.

Josh Kaufman: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours” (Steve Wonder) – Team Usher

At first, I thought this was another surprising choice by the audience – though we were reminded in the intro that this was the song Josh sung that lead to his Steal by Usher. But once the song really got going, I was reminded once again just how talented Josh is. I loved how Josh admitted to borrowing one of the vocal cues his opponent in the Battle Round, Delvin Choice, used against him. Josh is probably the most talented contestant left in the show (where as Christina might have more upside and Jake is so perfectly tuned into the type of artist he is going to be).

Christina Grimmie & Adam Levine: “Somebody That I Used to Know” (Gotye)

So far tonight, the coaches have nailed their duet song choices. Christina and Adam blended their voices wonderful here. This is a song that has shown up on The Voice three times before, but this performance will hopefully define the song one that needs more than one artist to do it justice.

Jake Worthington: “Right Here Waiting” (Richard Marx) – Team Blake