The Voice 5 – Recap – Top 3 Finale – 12/16/2013 – Video
The Voice 5 recap, videos and live blog for December 16, 2013! It’s night one of the two-night finale as the Top 3 compete to be named The Voice!
Team Adam brings two artists into the final, as Will Champlin and Tessanne Chin represent the Maroon 5 rocker against Team Christina's teenage powerhouse, Jacquie Lee. Who will soar? Who will stumble? And who will win The Voice?!
Credit: Mark Seliger/NBC
Here are tonight's song choices. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Blind Audition Encore
Tessanne Chin: "Try" by Pink
Will Champlin: "Not Over You" by Gavin DeGraw
Jacquie Lee: "Back to Black" by Amy Winehouse
Coach Duets
Tessanne Chin and Adam Levine: "Let it Be" by The Beatles
Will Champlin and Adam Levine: "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John
Jacquie Lee and Christina Aguilera: "We Remain" by Christina Aguilera
Final 3 Song Choices
Will Champlin: "(Everything I Do) I Do it For You" by Bryan Adams
Tessanne Chin: "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston
Jacquie Lee: "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jennifer Holliday
At least half of these song choices do absolutely nothing for me, but it should still be a night of killer vocals. What do you think of these song choices, and where does this final three rank among previous final threes on The Voice? Sound off in the comments as we kick off the recap and live blog for night one of The Voice two-night season finale!
Recap
-We kick things off with an introduction of the finalists (awww, Jacquie just looks pleased as punch to be there), and follow it up with a video on how the three finalists got to this stage in the competition. Adam insists it's a Team Adam season, while Christina says he's not going to take this away from her girl. The contestants talk about how badly they want to win, and Jacquie prompts an eyeroll from me with the oldest chestnut in reality TV short of "I'm not here to make friends!": "It's go big or go home!"
The Coaches perform "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leppard: I think one of the understated strengths of The Voice is that, no matter the scene, all four panelists are performers. There are no record execs or people who've never sung a note in their lives. So not only do you get performances like this, you get the cred that goes with having a show fronted by world-class performers. It's one of the big pluses of the show that doesn't get nearly enough attention. The X Factor USA could never do this, nor could America's Got Talent (although I suppose American Idol could this season, but I'm not exactly clamoring to see Jennifer Lopez repeat the whole Celia Cruz debacle).
As for the performance itself, this was fun. All the coaches sounded great, and SEVEN HELLS, CHRISTINA LOOKS AMAZING! It's total sensory overload, and I'm totally not prepared for it on a Monday.
TESSANNE CHIN kicks off the show with "Try" by Pink: Tessanne is singing her Blind Audition song, and before the performance, we get a video from Adam talking about how proud he is of Tessanne, and wishing her all the best. It's a really sweet video that pairs with a wonderful vocal from Tessanne. She probably could have done this in her sleep. Interestingly, since we have two hours tonight for three acts, we're apparently getting full renditions of songs, second verse and all. She overcooks it a bit at the end, but this is still a damn fine way to kick off the competitive performances of tonight's final.
-Adam talks about how much he's loved working with Tessanne, and says every moment together has been positive, educational, awesome, and other wonderful adjectives. He also praises her talent (obviously) and adds that she's one of the most caring, genuine people he's ever met. CeeLo adds his well-wishes, saying Tessanne did a wonderful job, and that they all fought for her. He says she's become a fan favorite, and a favorite of the judges, and has evolved throughout the competition. "You deserve it all," he tells her, and it's hard to argue with the sentiment.
Tweets
-We return from break with some silliness involving the judges switching chairs. Carson then reads some tweets, such as wondering if Adam has picked up a Jamaican accent from Tessanne. He also wishes Christina a Happy Early Birthday and implies she's 21, and Lord knows she could pass.
WILL CHAMPLIN is up next, performing "Not Over You" by Gavin DeGraw: Adam talks about his first impression of Will in the VT, and adds how special Will is. Can't disagree there, given how strong this performance is. I don't know if Will would set the world on fire as a winner, but he looks and sounds like a million bucks here. Sure, it gets a bit uneven towards the end, but I still loved the majority of it. He even works the stage and interacts with the crowd, clearly basking in having made it to the finale. It's great stuff. However, the video screen in the background is a bit distracting with its galaxy of stars and random shapes, which give me flashbacks to playing Galaga at Sharkie's of State College, and making me nauseous in the process. But thankfully, Will's voice soothes.
-Shot of Will's family in the crowd, and his baby daughter is fast asleep. ADORABLE. Will says it's past her bedtime.
-Adam says that Will is the hardest working person in the competition, and praises his ability and resiliency, as he bounced from his team to Christina's team and back again. Christina praises Will for overcoming his adversities and then accidentally congratulates him for making the "Bottom 3," before correcting herself. Cute.
JACQUIE LEE is up next, singing "Back to Black" by Amy Winehouse: Christina talks about being captivated during Jacquie's blind audition, hearing this powerful voice and hitting her button, and discovering a girl who she feels could take it all the way. This vocal is stronger in the verses than it is in the chorus, which gets a bit strained. In particular, he finally run at the end is a mess, but here's the thing: Jacquie just has such poise and confidence onstage, which are qualities she didn't always have. Of the finalists, she's the one who's grown the most as the competition has worn on, and it's something that's been great to watch. She's only 16, yet she can imbue a song with the pain and depth of someone who's been around on this planet a lot longer.
-Christina talks about the beautiful blend in Jacquie's voice and how much Jacquie makes her look forward to coming back and being in her chair. She adds that she loved recording the duet they're going to perform later, and also talks about how she's been in this business for a long time and hasn't seen anyone like Jacquie. Christina once again praises Jacquie's incredible ability and OH MY GOD, I LOVE YOU CHRISTINA BUT PLEASE WRAP IT THE HELL UP.
-And Christina is the only one who gets to talk, as we throw to commercial as soon as she finishes. They need some kind of a blinking "Wrap it up" light cue for Christina like they have for winners at the Oscars.
-And now it's time for the coach duets!
TESSANNE CHIN and ADAM LEVINE sing "Let It Be" by The Beatles: Tessanne tells Adam that she never thought, a year ago, that she would be sitting here talking with him. She tears up talking about how much she looks up to him, and we get a look at the recording session for the iTunes version of their duet, and Adam really is a profoundly underrated vocalist. They joke around during their session about his Sexiest Man Alive title, and Adam says he's never been more excited to sing with one of his artists.
Adam is playing guitar for the performance, and they don't come across as two individual artists here, to me. They come across as a duo, particularly from how well they blend together and play off of one another. It's a remarkable little performance that goes into a whole other gear with Adam's badass guitar solo and the sudden, fantastic reggae arrangement, complete with Adam reggae vocal. This makes me wish for a different timeline in which Adam and Tessanne met in Jamaica and entered the competition together. But that would require compromising the space-time continuum, as well as possibly erasing The Voice from existence and sending NBC into a nosedive. You know, a deeper one.
JACQUIE LEE and CHRISTINA AGUILERA sing "We Remain" by Christina Aguilera: In their mentoring session, Christina talks about how much she's loved working with Jacquie, and Jacquie reveals that her family told her before her blind audition that if Christina turned her chair, she'd better pick her. Jacquie's mother reveals that there's no history of singing in their family, which makes Jacquie's talent all the more remarkable. They rehearse "We Remain" from The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, and Christina rationalizes the song choice by making a veiled comparison between Jacquie and Katniss. Let's see if Jacquie's dress catches fire.
Well, okay, it doesn't catch fire but it is fire red. As is Christina's dress. So let's just get how great they look out of the way first. The costume department deserves an Emmy, or at least a gold star and a bottle of champagne. As for the performance itself, it seemed like Christina was having some trouble with her earpiece throughout, and it made for some weirdly flat moments. She also took over the entire performance for extended periods, such as the entire second verse. There was considerably less give-and-take here than there was between Adam and Tessanne. But I have to say that when Jacquie was given the chance to shine, she really shone beautifully. This was one of my favorite Jacquie Lee vocals strictly for how restrained it was.
WILL CHAMPLIN and ADAM LEVINE sing "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John: It's interesting to see these two interact in their mentoring session, doubling the chorus and discussing how to work through the verses with a proper amount of give-and-take. They talk about their similar upbringings and how they were hesitant to become singers in their teen years. Adam feels he and Will are cut from the same cloth, and I think a big reason why this partnership has worked out so well is because they're so similar in so many different ways, not necessarily in vocal style and appearance, but in musical ideology. If Will had been the coach and Adam the contestant, I could see him giving Adam many of the same songs to sing.
The performance is characteristically strong, as Adam and Will come across as two buds getting up on stage at a show and just jamming out to a song they love. And what's great is that Adam doesn't take the shine off of Will, nor does Will take over from Adam. They sheer duties fairly equally, and it makes for a wonderful duos performance that makes me wish they could have had the chance to do this more frequently throughout the competition. I hope they can find an excuse to collaborate in the future. I really like the way they sound together.
More Tweets, For Some Reason
-Carson comes back with a tweet from a Twitter user named @AllAboutBlake, who asks if she can put Blake's face on her birthday cake. Blake says he'd like to literally put his face in her birthday cake, which sounds too many shades of wrong for a Monday. Of course, without these Twitter segments, we'd never check in with either Blake or CeeLo, between the lack of critiques after the duets, and Christina exhibiting her incredible lung capacity by talking for North of forever.
WILL CHAMPLIN, JACQUIE LEE and TESSANNE CHIN sing "I'll Be There" by The Jacksons: I swear, tonight is straight out of the "Songs I Never Need to Hear On Another Singing Show Again" Playbook, but dammit, these people are JUST. SO. TALENTED. It's an absolutely killer vocal from all three performers. I was particularly impressed by Jacquie Lee, who continues to exhibit more nuance in tonight's performances than she's had the opportunity to show in at least two weeks, from the songs that Christina has given her. I think I'm slowly coming over to Team Jacquie.
Final Round
-It's the final leg of the competition, and it's time to kick things off...
TESSANNE CHIN sings "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston: Tessanne talks about her ambition to forge an international career for herself before detailing her journey throughout the competition, from her blind audition to Adam giving her "Many Rivers to Cross" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water," two songs that have brought her closer to realizing her dream. In the mentoring session, Adam theorizes on how they can overcome "Bridge Over Troubled Water," and he feels they can do this with Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing". Tessanne's initial reaction is to insist "I'm not doing Whitney!", but Adam is able to sell her on the song. If nothing else, she clearly has the voice to pull it off. But much like Tessanne, I sincerely wish Adam would have picked something else.
Tessanne proves herself beyond capable of tackling Whitney, as she absolutely SLAYS this vocal. Adam's reactions are priceless, too, as he just seems so stoked for Tessanne. She even gets the golden pyro raining down from the ceiling, which creates a weirdly trippy effect when it reflects off of the shiny, mirror-esque stage. Adam gives Tessanne a standing ovation.
-Adam has "no thoughts, just emotions" after watching Tessanne's performance, saying "we lost Whitney too soon" and recounts Tessanne rehearsing the song, and saying he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He said there are only three or four songs bigger than that one, and yet she continues to blow him away, adding that he never knows where the ceiling is with Tessanne. Adam doesn't want to openly push for viewers to vote for Tessanne, but he feels she's just such an incredible vocalist. If I didn't have such faith in Adam as a cool, genuine guy, I'd wonder if he wasn't subtly throwing Will under the bus. But I just can't see him purposely busing Will.
WILL CHAMPLIN sings "(Everything I Do) I Do it For You" by Bryan Adams: Will talks about his father being in the band Chicago, and discusses how floored he was by the judges turning their chairs around for him. He says that after being eliminated from Team Christina, he felt it was fate to return to Team Adam. He adds how fortunate he feels to have made it through Live Playoffs and into the voting rounds, and Adam talks about Will's evolution throughout the competition. They rehearse "(Everything I Do) I Do it For You," with Adam rightly pointing out what a huge song this is. Seriously, say what you will about how played out this song is on singing competitions, but I don't think there will ever come a time where I don't love this song. Bryan Adams is a national treasure (and he's not even from this nation!).
However, I was kind of disappointed for about 70% of this. It didn't really become the performance it should have been until the bridge. But after that point, it was impossible for me not to feel moved by this, particularly once Will goes out into the audience and sings directly to his wife and child (who's absurdly gorgeous, by the way). He gets a little ahead of the music towards the end, but who the hell cares? This was beautiful.
-Adam considers this a victory for Will (at the start, Will's daughter starts crying, he shushes her, and she smiles in an absolutely adorable little moment). Adam reiterates that being in the final is victory enough for Will, and that he doesn't need the title or anything because he's already won (translation: "You're not going to win. Be happy with second/third place"), and states he's proud of Will for "all the crap" he's "had to put up with" (I guess he's referencing being bounced between his team and Christina's). Blake asserts how impressed he is that Adam has had an act in the finale every single season, which is something I never thought about before. He says Will did a great job with the song, and I find myself wondering if CeeLo wishes he would have just stayed home tonight with his many animals and a bottle of Courvoisier.
JACQUIE LEE closes the show with "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" by Jennifer Holliday: Jacquie talks about being from a loud Italian family and recalls primarily singing in church functions before this. She then reflects on her blind audition and how worried she was when the song went on and on without any chairs turning around. However, Christina recalls being particularly impressed with Jacquie's ability relative to her age. Jacquie and Christina rehearse "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" while Jacquie discusses coming closer to accomplishing her dream.
This...did nothing for me. At all. Jacquie absolutely looks the part of a star, and occasionally sounds like one too. But this was a screechy, shouty, awkward mess. But man, does she ever look like a star by the end of this, with the golden pyro popping off in the background as she works her sequin dress. However, that's just not enough for me to get onboard with this vocal. I almost wish she'd had a different coach, since Christina doesn't seem to have an instinct to rein in the over-the-top vocal inflections, since it's something she does herself. However, not everyone has Christina Aguilera's vocal control, especially at 16. She needed to do something more subtle and restrained (Christina's vocal on "Say Something" proves that she knows the value of a more subdued vocal), instead of yet another booming anthem. I like Jacquie Lee. I really do. But that just wasn't up to the standard of the other two finalists.
-Christina talks about how this is Jacquie's moment, and it stands as a kiss-off to everyone who ever doubted her and said she wasn't good enough. Christina keeps it short in talking about how she's continually amazed by Jacquie's ability, and Blake quickly adds his own praise of Jacquie's vocal prowess.
Wait, wasn't Ryan Tedder supposed to write three winner's singles for the finalists to perform? The hell ever happened to those? Maybe they'll get performed tomorrow? I could imagine producers wouldn't want fans for voting based on which song they liked best, but I'd like to think, at this stage of the competition, viewers would know all three songs would inevitably get released anyway, no?
-And like that, we're out! So with all the performances finished...
Add your prediction and sound off in the comments!
Thanks for joining me for the live blog! Be sure to join us tomorrow night for the live blog of the finale, where the champion of The Voice 5 will be declared!