The Voice Final Battles – review

Last Tuesday night’s episode of The Voice was the one we’ve all been waiting for. The show, which debuted early this summer, started out with four singing coaches looking to find the next greatest pop singer. The coaches for this show include Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green, and Adam Levine. The show started with blind auditions. Each coach was supposed to select a group of singers that they would take under their wing and train for a sing-off. With 8 singers in each group, the coaches then paired off two singers each and had them perform a duet to see which singer would outshine the other. This process would whittle down the group to just four each. From there each group was pared down to two in a group, and then one, leaving each coach one singer to represent them. Last night was the final sing-off for last four remaining contestants, Javier Colon (Team Adam), Beverley McClellan (Team Christina), Dia Frampton (Team Blake), and Vicci Martienez (Team Cee Lo). The two-hour show gave each contestant a chance to sing an original that was specifically written for them, and a duet with the coach.  There were a few special guest performances from Pitbull & Ne-Yo (“Give Me Everything”) and Brad Paisley (“Don’t Drink The Water”). Here is a review of what happened Tuesday night.

The night started off with a special performance from the four coaches. They sang another Queen classic “Under Pressure.” It wasn’t as epic (in my opinion, at least) as their previous Queen medley rendition, which they performed a few weeks ago.

Next up was Javier Colon with his special song “Stitch by Stitch.” He got to work with one of the biggest names in urban music, Rodney Jerkins (the same man who produced big hits for Destiny’s Child and Black Eyed Peas). It was a magical pick, and it really reflected the talent that he represents. It was much more than just a pleasant low-key song, it was a song that showcased Javier’s soft side. I loved this perfomance, and I think everyone else did, too.

The second performance was a duet from Dia Frampton and her coach Blake Shelton. They sang a cool rendition of Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down.” It was amazing to watch two different performers with drastically different styles come together to sing a classic and to sing it well!

The night’s third performance came from from Vicci Martinez. Her song “Afraid To Sleep” was a Butch Walker-produced hit. The song showcased her edgy side with raw, soulful vocals, but it was essentially the same type of performance she did every week before.

Next up was another duet, this time from Beverly McClellan and Christina Aguilera. Their song of choice was one of Aguilera’s biggest hits, “Beautiful.” This song was a wonderful choice, and I loved the acoustic guitar.

Then it was time for Dia to come back to the stage, this time with her original song “Inventing Shadows.” What I loved about this performance was that it proved how far she has come along in the entire competition. She started out as a shy folk-singer and has transformed into powerhouse with a unique sound. It’s obvious that Dia is going to go far.

Nex came Javier and Adam’s duet. They chose Michael Jackson’s “Man In The Mirror,” and there was only one word to sum up the entire duet: amazing. It was an amazing song and amazing performance.

The last solo performance of the night was from Beverly McClellan, with her original song “Lovesick.” It was a good song and an energetic show.

The last duet of the night was courtesy of Vicci and Cee Lo with Pat Benetar’s “Love Is A Battlefield,” and it was the perfect song choice to close the night! The energy and the vibe of the whole performance was near epic.