NBC’s ‘The Voice’ review: Sundance Head, Josh Gallagher, Billy Gilman, We McDonald kick off finale
Tonight, “The Voice” finale is here! The final four artists will be taking the stage with three different performances, and over the course of the night we imagine that there are going to be some highs and lows. Maybe there will be a clear-cut winner at the end of the show, but who knows? There’s certainly not a guarantee of that; as a matter of fact, we hope that it is a close competition since it keeps the drama there.
As we’ve done almost all season long, we’re going to be updating this article throughout! Stay tuned for some more updates. We’re also going to be grouping the performances and ranking them over the course of the night.
New Covers
4. Josh Gallager, “Jack and Diane” – You’re going to see a recurring theme for Josh most of the night. Every single thing that he did on the show was pretty well-done, but at the same time, there was still something more that we wanted from it. This was a pretty straight cover of the original, and there weren’t any major vocal flaws in it; unfortunately, there also wasn’t a whole lot that we will remember.
3. Billy Gilman, “My Way” – It was an interesting choice for Billy to go with this song, given that we don’t consider him a crooner so much as a pop singer. Still, he did it … his way. (Come on guys, up here! *High five signal*) Anyhow, Billy nailed this song vocally, and it was a pretty powerful start to the show. Personally, we wouldn’t placed it later in the show, just because we like it when “The Voice” goes up-tempo to start things off.
2. Sundance Head, “At Last” – There wasn’t much of a reason why a country version of an Etta James classic would work, but somehow, it did! This was a very entertaining cover from start to finish, and one with so much soul and power. He had probably as fantastic of a night as we could have ever hoped for, and he did by bringing you a wide range of what he does best: He had fun, but he also showed you his heard and his passion.
1. We McDonald, “Rain on My Parade” – While we’re not sure if We will win this show, this performance alone should make it clear that she deserves a spot on Bravo in the future. She’s only a teenager, but at the same time we do think that she could do ANYTHING that she set her mind out to do. A perfect vocal, and we really love that she chose to end her time on the show (this was her final performance of the night) with something so upbeat and enthusiastic.
Duets
4. Josh Gallagher and Adam Levine, “Smooth” – We give the guy credit for trying something really far out of his own country genre. This just felt really out of place for him, and like the two guys got up on stage at karaoke night and figured it was time to party. No bueno. The best part of it was Adam’s guitar solo.
3. We McDonald and Alicia Keys, “Ave Maria” – It’s definitely the biggest risk of the night, and a chance for We to show off some of her operatic talents. She’s incredibly versatile! The performance was lovely, albeit a little random, and the largest concern that we’ve got coming out of this mostly that opera is not the sort of thing that viewers of “The Voice” will buy on iTunes.
2. Sundance Head and Blake Shelton, “Treat Her Right” – This was a tribute to his father Roy Head, and while this was a little bit of a hot mess, we love that Sundance really went all for it. We really didn’t think we’d love him as much as we did this season given our typical distaste for country, but here we are!
1. Billy Gilman and Adam Levine, “Bye Bye Love” – It probably helps our overall opinion of this song that we love it so much, but we did feel like this was genuinely very enjoyable and easy to listen to. Was it shockingly amazing? Not necessarily, but we don’t really mind that.
Original Songs
4. Josh Gallagher, “Pick Any Small Town” – It’s not reinventing country music, but it’s a charming ode to small-town life that works well for his image. (Music video here.)
3. We McDonald, “Wishes” – Great presence, and she’s got a tremendous command of her lower register for someone so young. We do wish that the song was a little less lyrically cluttered. (Music video here.)
2. Sundance Head, “Darlin’ Don’t Go” – It’s the only previously-released song of the group in terms of Sundance having a history performing it, but that doesn’t diminish the power of the emotion in it. (Music video here.)
1. Billy Gilman, “Because of Me” – Really beautiful song, and one that is by far the catchiest of the crowd. Vocally, it wasn’t the strongest, but it’ll more than likely sell the most. (Music video here.)
For some other news on “The Voice,” including rankings and so much more, be sure to head over to the link here! (Photo: NBC.)