The Voice 8 Finale Live Blog and VIDEOS

Now, for some chat with the judges. Adam loves Joshua Davis’ sincerity. Pharrell Williams is proud of both his team members in the Final 4. Christina was impressed with everyone in the finals. Blah blah. It’s the 7th time Blake Shelton has made it to the finals. Could Meghan Linsey bring him his 5th win? He plays humble. Because she ain’t gonna win.

Joshua Davis is bringing back Brian Johnson, Deanna Johnson, Corey Kent White and Kimberly Nichole for his “bring back” performance of “She Talks to Angels” by Black Crowes. Well, this is a mish mosh of a bunch of different voices. I bet KIMBERLY COULD KILL THIS SONG IF SHE THREW EVERYONE OFF THE STAGE. Oh well.

http://dai.ly/x2qru15

FILLER. It’s Christina Aguilera doing her world famous impressions, Sia, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, Shakira, Cher. Did she do impressions as a child performer on the Mickey Mouse Club? Was that her thing? Cute, though.

https://youtu.be/l2AVHvEugxw

Meghan Trainor is next, singing her novelty hit, “Dear Future Husband.” Blargh. She’s playing the ukulele, surrounded by lamps. The staging people at The Voice are freaks. That’s the only conclusion I can draw.

https://youtu.be/X1ixUjZvM4c

Red Nose Day pimping. Nick Offerman and Will Ferrell. who calls himself “the original Pharrell.”

There was an Adam Levine filler video package, which I completely missed. It was something about sports. Or something.

Oh! Kelly Clarkson is joining Koryn Hawthorne to sing “I’d Rather Go Blind!” YASSSS. SANG IT GIRLS SANG IT. This is sooooo good. Two soulful powerhouses coming together. “She can sing y’all,” says Kelly afterward.

https://youtu.be/P_O2CiyfGD4

Meghan Linsey brings back Sarah Potenza for a duet of “Piece of My Heart.” They both live in Nashville and have become fast friends. SCREAM-O-RAMA! It’s the battle of the REALLY LOUD SINGERS. I’m sorta kidding. The two are suited to a duet, and delivered a solid performance.

http://dai.ly/x2qrrfd

Joe Jonas and and some dude pimp their new NBC summer show, I Can Do That. It’s basically “celebrities” attempting to do stuff that’s harder than it looks.

Adam Levine and Maroon 5 hit the stage with their new single, “This Summer’s Going to Hurt.” Hoping for the big summer smash? I don’t think this is it. Or maybe it is, because what do I know. Confession: I really really like the current single, “Sugar.” He sings into a voice decoder thingy, ‘This summer is going to hurt like a mother uh huh.” Hm.

https://youtu.be/J41aUUa55Mk

The Final 4 reveal their final Voice confessions. This is SERIOUS ya’ll. The singers and their coaches share their feelings about The Voice experience–what they’ve learned, how it’s been, yada yada.

Next, John Fogerty joins Sawyer Fredericks on stage for a performance! When I saw Fogerty’s name on the guest list I KNEW he was here to sing with Sawyer. John is still the real deal. He puts Sawyer’s youth in relief. The voices are similar, but Sawyer sounds callow by comparison, in this medley of CCCs greatest hits.

https://youtu.be/BW050oJ4ihs

Sheryl Crow joins Joshua Davis for a duet! This is a good matchup. They sing her song “Give it to Me.” Lovely vocal blend, these two have some chemistry! Joshua’s got a look on his face, like he can’t believe what’s happening.

https://youtu.be/mMSpbvJpd1A

After the show last night, there was a little Q&A with audience members. Of course, it’s just a little segue to Blake announcing that they all won new Nissan cars. They get to pick! Either the Altima, Rogue or something else. It’s Sawyer’s first car! Probably Koryn’s too.

Luke Bryan is in the house to sing about chicks and beer or whatever. Zzzzz. Oh and tractors. Don’t forget the tractors. Wow. This sucks hard, even by super-low bro-country standards. If his target audience noticed the middle eastern riff, they’d probably revolt.

One of Blake’s goofy gifs won gif of the season, or some such. He’s the king of silly.

Koryn Hawthorne brings back Lexi Davila, Tonya Boyd-Cannon, Caitlin Caporale, India Carney and Mia Z to sing “Uptown Funk.” GIRL POWER! Don’t believe me just watch! It’s a wall of female powered awesomeness.

http://dai.ly/x2qrrfx

Adam Levine showed up for his own private mentor session with Pharrell and Reba. They pretend like they don’t know him. Hardee har har. Adam lip syncs “Ave Maria” while Blake and Reba fake being impressed. OUTTAKE FROM A PAST EPISODE.

Ed Sheeran returns to The Voice to debut his new song, “Photograph.” Home movies of Ed play on the screen behind him as he sweetly sings. What an adorable little ginger he was. Ed does WGWG right.

https://youtu.be/9KoiFXUh3EU

Kelly Clarkson performs her new single “Invincible” with finalist, Meghan Linsey. Really? Kelly doesn’t need help performing her new single, thanks. I’d be really pissed if she hadn’t already slayed this on Sunday’s Billboard Music Awards. Gratefully, Meghan is keeping the shouting to a minimum. OMG. Kelly’s upper register is sublime! Her voice is in great shape tonight!

https://youtu.be/GZDubPCd0Hs

Wow. So Pharrell Williams took Mia Z into the studio after she was eliminated. They recorded a song titled “Child.” Click to download on iTunes. YAY. I’m so glad to hear that. She was robbed.

https://youtu.be/DgHQdvKuBx4

Sawyer Fredericks brings back Mia Z, Brooke Adee, and Lowell Oakley to perform “Lie to Me” by Jonny Lang. The soul kids take the stage! Adorable.

http://dai.ly/x2qrrgi

Next, is some filler featuring Blake Shelton. It’s the dark side of the country singer. Ha ha, he’s like that dude in Whiplash. NO WATER FOR YOU.  Ha ha Adam and JK Simmons in the audience.  I saw that coming. “Aren’t country people supposed to be nice?” he asks.

The coaches, Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton pay tribute to the late B.B. King with “The Thrill is Gone.”  Christina is killing it. Adam and Blake are on guitar duty, with Adam performing a solo.

https://youtu.be/SRjFwACR87E

RESULTS!  Who will win it all?

Fourth Place – Koryn Hawthorne
3rd Place – Joshua Davis
2nd Place – Meghan Linsey
WINNER – Sawyer Fredericks

Yup. Just as everyone with a pulse predicted.

https://youtu.be/_7XIpgihn4U

Sawyer wins. NOBODY was surprised by those results. Not Carson, not the coaches, not the contestants. The finalists didn’t even look nervous as the results were read. When it got down to Meghan and Sawyer, she kept nodding and nodding her head, like she was waiting to hear what she already knew.  Although, she did walk away looking disappointed.  Sawyer sang out with his single, “Please,” cool as a cuke, while his hippie parents tearfully joined him on stage.  ….And then he was cut off for local news. Really? The network couldn’t cut into the next hour for a minute or two to allow Sawyer’s sing off to play out?

The thing about iTunes counting as votes. It takes away all the mystery. This season, at least, iTunes sales telegraphed the rank perfectly. The cumulative bonus gives the edge to the singer with the most downloads. That other show’s results had my heart racing until the winner was announced.

Coach Pharrell Williams went from no team members in the finals last season to winning it all in season 8. Not only that, EACH of the four finalists had spent at least some time on Team Pharrell. Both Joshua Davis and Meghan Linsey picked him to be their coach at the Blind Auditions.If Pharrell comes back for season 9 EVERYBODY is gonna want to be on his team.

Despite the lack of surprises, The Voice 8 was a really entertaining season. Episode after episode brought a load of great talent and performances. I never came away disappointed. I liked that we had an extra week of finals too, which eliminated that week where the show typically loses 3 singers at once.

Congratulations to young Sawyer. He’s talented, mature and seems to have a supportive family. I hope his post-Voice experience is fruitful. I share others’ sentiment about Republic records: Please don’t screw this up.  I hope they know what to do with Sawyer’s special talent. He’s not a pop star. Allow him to co-write and tout him as an authentic singer/songwriter. Then pimp him to Adult Alternative (AAA) and Hot AC radio. If handled well, he could have at least a modestly successful career.

Meghan has probably raised her profile in Nashville. She could get signed again, or be successful as an indie. I bet Blake gives her a hand.

We’ve had 3 seasons in a row of male throwback winners. Somebody like Joshua Davis, who was by no means the best singer, made it to 3rd place. I think The Voice has officially gotten to that place where the ratings demo has shrunk enough, that it produces winners that appeal to an older audience. The boys officially rule on The Voice.

Photo Gallery