“The Voice”—Finale – Recap & Predictions

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After six live shows, it all comes down to this week’s finale of The Voice. Will Champlin, Jacquie Lee, and Tessanne Chin performed for the last time last night vying for your votes. It’s been a interesting season, with an unmeasurable amount of talent, and taking everything into consideration, predicting a winner is giving me a serious headache... all three are very talented... all three have amazing strengths... all three showed exactly why they are and deserve to be in the finale.

Last night, each artist performed three songs – their Blind Audition song, a duet with their coach, and a final song for your votes. After the coaches performed “Pour Some Sugar On Me” together to open the night, Tessanne took the stage with “Try.” It was really well done and felt as though you were at Tessanne’s headlining concert. Will came next with “Not Over You,” and you couldn’t help but notice how much he has grown as an artist. His personality is finally coming through and just adds to his great vocals. Jacquie rounded out the Blind Audition 'flashbacks' with “Back To Black.” There is so much power in her, and sometimes, she does need to reign it in a bit... but still a performance well done.

The second part of last night’s broadcast was the duets with the coaches. First up was Tessanne singing “Let It Be” with Adam. Both looked amazing, and both sounded amazing, but for some reason their voices really didn’t blend well together. It wasn’t bad... just the mix of their vocals was kind of off. After Adam’s guitar solo, Tessanne did her feature, and her accent became very prominent. At that moment, you could hear the positive reaction from the audience – she did sound amazing and even more so with her accent.

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Jacquie and Christina were up next with “We Remain.” Watching them both perform together is magic. Their vocals blend so well, and each complements the other perfectly. Jacquie managed to keep her power in check during this number, which I was hoping she would do. She was still powerful but not overpowering (as she sometimes is). She showed she can control that raging 'fire' inside of her, and when she does... she is an astonishing vocalist.

Adam chose “Tiny Dancer” as the duet song with Will. I much preferred this duet over the one Adam did with Tessanne. Vocally, both Tessanne and Will are great, but Will’s voice just matches much better with Adam’s. Will showed us again how far he has come in this competition, and how much control he has over his vocals. It was a great song choice for the two of them to do together and was really well done.

Before the Top 3 performed their final songs, they got together as a group to sing “I’ll Be There." When you put them on the stage together, it makes it impossible to pick a winner. The group performance was phenomenal. They are all extremely talented and harmonized so well as a group. Jacquie kept her power under control and was great. Will’s falsetto was perfectly timed and executed, and Tessanne was strong and genuine. The one thing that really impressed me, though, was as I was watching them on stage together, it was plain to see just how much respect and admiration they have for each other... they may be competitors on the show, but they’re probably going to be friends for life.

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Moving on to the final portion of the show, and singing her final song, “I Have Nothing,” Tessanne gave one of the best performances of the season. It was pure power with unbelievable range and control. She sang it with such confidence and conviction that there’s nothing really to say except for “Wow!” It doesn’t matter where in the register Tessanne is singing or what song or what style she is doing, everything she does comes so naturally, purely, and flawlessly. She really did do Whitney proud.

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Will followed with “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You.” Obviously he was singing it for his wife and daughter, and you could feel the very powerful and very real emotions he was putting into the song. The camera shifted many times to his wife and daughter, and that added an even stronger sense of the connection Will has with his family. He ended his song by giving both his wife and daughter a kiss. I’m sure that performance, aside from being the best Will has done on the show, had many viewers reaching for a box of tissues.

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Jacquie closed the night with “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” The moment she opened her mouth, you had to wonder what powerful soul she was tapping into. She hit and held notes that really shouldn’t have been possible, and when the camera cut to a shot of Christina, the shock and confusion (as to how?) on her face was evident. Jacquie let everything out and brought forth everything inside of her. There were a couple times where too much power came out, but her control is growing and still is just mind-boggling. Her final note was incredible. She hit it and held it beyond what we would think was humanly possible, and even Christina’s mouth dropped open in pure awe. Once the crowd quieted down, a dumbfounded Christina looked at Carson and Jacquie and said, “I literally can’t believe what I just witnessed.” Jacquie closed the show with a bang.

Every one of the three finalists gave it their all... and then some. Their coaches did an great job of helping them grow, and the talent in these three is beyond definition. Each one is different... each one is amazing... and each one is going to have a very bright future in music. Unfortunately, only one can be “The Voice.” This may just be the tightest race for the title the show has ever seen. Predicting a winner is contingent on so many factors, I’m not sure anyone could say with 100% certainty who that will be. Most of the past shows, it’s been fairly ‘cut and dry’ as to who was staying and who was going, but with these final three... not so much.

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Tessanne was always great vocally and performed each song almost flawlessly, but seemed a little late in gathering a loyal and strong fan base. Once she got the ball rolling, though, she was quickly becoming a fan favorite. Will was always technically amazing, but it took a while for his personality to shine through. Once that started happening, his fans and followers began to grow exponentially. His journey started as kind of the ‘underdog,’ and even I misjudged him (one of my regrets) earlier in the competition. If the show were to go on just a few more weeks, I think the final outcome would be much different. Then there’s Jacquie. She captured a strong and large fan base early in the competition, and each week, that following seemed only to continue and to grow. In the end, however, all three do have a large number of amazing and dedicated fans.

I really don’t have a favorite. To me, Jacquie, Will, and Tessanne are all exceptionally talented vocalists and are each the best in their own style. Honestly, they all deserve to win for different reasons. But I have to give my prediction, and in doing so, I am not saying who is the best singer or who is the best performer... I’m simply predicting how the results are going to play out, so here it is:

Will Champlin will finish in third place, but like I’ve said, he will have a very long and strong vocal career. Tessanne Chin will take the runner-up position but will also be huge in music. Jacquie Lee will be the one who takes the title of “The Voice” for season 5... marking her first step in a very promising career.

I do hope, however, they all know and remember that even though winning is great, the experiences they have had, the coaching and teachings they’ve received, and the friends and connections they’ve made are the true prize... and are priceless.

I wish everyone well and can’t wait to see what the future will deliver.

I want to say a big thank-you to everyone who has been reading my blog over the season, and I can’t wait for the next season. Until then... I’ve got many interesting stories planned and articles on the go, so keep in touch, and I’ll keep you entertained and informed.