1st place – Jermaine Paul (Team Blake)
2nd place- Juliet Simms (Team Cee Lo)
3rd place – Tony Lucca (Team Adam)
4th place – Chris Mann (Team Christina)
Holy sh*t. I so did not see that coming. Jermaine Paul??? Really? I had him dead last on my prediction list and felt Blake had the weakest team overall. Granted, Jermaine performed as if he were singing for his LIFE last night. It was easily his best performance of the competition. But was this guy popular all season? Or did the causal vote, rather than a fanbase determine the winner? Obviously, it wasn’t iTunes sales, because Jermaine came in last. And if you think about it–Tony Lucca did not win the viewer vote vs Katrina Parker last week. When it comes down to it, perhaps he was a weaker player than he appeared.
And how about that…the two white guys came in last.
Perhaps, viewers vote for the coaches rather than the performances. I could easily see Blake winning that contest. Between Adam and Christina’s petty bickering over Tony Lucca, and Cee Lo’s weirdness–I can imagine viewers preferring Blake’s straight-shooting personality.
The close vote totals probably also contributed. Carson announced that only 1/4 of a percentage point separated 3rd and fourth and only 4 percentage points separated 2nd and 1st. A few more votes, and Juliet Simms would have won in a less surprising outcome.
Hopefully, the record label will do a better job of marketing Jermaine than they did Javier, whose post-Voice debut sold poorly–like 133Kish his first week. If record producers can manage to update Jermaine’s sound, he might sell some records–or at least be successful on the R&B charts. I think he’s got a better chance at post show success than either Tony or Juliet. I loved Juliet and was hoping, as she stood on stage with Jermaine, that she was the winner. But there is NO market for the classic rock style she prefers. Tony is a strummy HAC guy, and we Idol fans know by now that they are hard to market. Chris could have possibly sold to the Suebo set with the right songs. But where is the hook? His voice is no better than adequate and he’s got no backstory to sell like Susan Boyle.
The finale itself was a total bore. If I had cared at all about the contestants they brought back from past rounds, maybe I would have enjoyed the group performances more. But as it was, I had to use a list of the Top 24 to set names to faces and figure out what team they were on. We just did not see these contestants enough to get to know them.
The highlight of the night for me, was Hall and Oats who basically showed the contestants what GOOD SANGIN is all about. Carson’s constant teasing of the Justin Beiber appearance was annoying. When he finally graced the stage, his performance did NOT live up to the hype. That song “Boyfriend” is terrible and Bieber cannot sing live.
Season 3 of The Voice starts up in just a few months and I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. There are some major problems that I”m not sure are fixable without completely re-hauling the format. The most entertaining phase of the show are the blind auditions, which come first. The next phase, the battle rounds, are dull and gimmicky. And it sucks to see good singers lose the rounds. The live shows are too short, and it’s frustrating to see a strong team lose their members. Top vote getters should be eliminated regardless of team affiliation, like the X Factor. If a coach is eventually left with no team? Well it sucks to be you! At least the finalists would be the strongest group possible.
Goodbye The Voice. I can’t really say I’m going to miss you.
***
Who will win The Voice Season 2? Tonight we find out. I’ll be live blogging results right here.
Carson introduces the four finalists on stage: Tony Lucca (Team Blake), Juliet Simms (Team Cee Lo), Chris Mann (Team Christina) and Jermaine Paul (Team Blake).
First up, of course, a recap of last night. Blake believes Jermaine can do anything. He thinks it’s cool the the Final Four is so diverse. Christina loves the energy in the room! All four have earned a spot on the show. Cee Lo is wearing a t shirt with the names of all his team members written on it. Adam says all 4 of the contestants have earned his respect. He’s OK with any outcome.
Jermaine Paul (Team Blake) chooses contestants, Pip (Team Adam), Jamar Rogers (Team Cee Lo) and James Massone (Team Cee Lo) to sing “I Want You Back” by The Jackson 5 – That was actually pretty entertaining.
Now, it’s time for a funny video featuring bloopers and such starring the coaches. Zz.
Flo Rida performs a medley of his hits with Juliet Simms. This is very weird and sloppy.
Aw. Look. Christina’s daughter is sitting on her lap. Is that a fan Xtina is holding to hide her face?
Chris Mann chooses Lindsey Paveo (Team Christina) and Katrina Parker (Team Blake) to sing “Bittersweet Symphony” By The Verve. Katrina blowing everyone off the stage, ya’ll. That was a little trainwrecky at first but came together at the end.
Flo Rida talks to twitter chick backstage. I am not going to miss her.
Another coach-centered video that’s all about the “bromance” between Blake and Adam. Zz.
Darryl Hall and John Oats sing “Rich Girl” YAY!!!! with Chris Mann, Jermaine Paul and Tony Lucca singing backups. Best performance of the night. Can they win The Voice please?
Another video. More “fun” with the coaches. I do not care.
A group performance featuring Cheesa, Matthai, Kim Yarbrough, Sera Hill— Basically, it’s the Ladies With Big Voices singing Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”.
This bit with Ceelo on the set of Parks & Rec is HILARIOUS. I love Leslie Knope and Ron Swanson!
Juliet Simms chooses RaeLynn (Team Blake), Erin Willett (Team Blake) and Jamar Rogers (Team Cee Lo) to sing “A Little Help From My Friends.” Kind of a scream-a-thon in parts, but pretty good.
Twitter chick is backstage with Juliet, RaeLynn, Jamar and Erin. Compliments all around! Despite not feeling well last night, Juliet felt great on stage last night.
Nowww a video dedicated to Perfect the cat. Adam and Blake hate the cat, who is actually rented for the show. Right. Not really Cee Lo’s cat.
Lady Antebellum take the stage to sing “I Wanted You More”. Not a fan of Lady A’s faux country stylings. Plus…Pitchy!
Tony Lucca brings back Jordis Unga (Team Blake) (ROBBED!) to sing “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac. Wasn’t crazy about that, even Jordis’ part.
After an SNL skit parodying Ceelo, we are backstage with twitter chick talking to the contestants.
Oh by the way, JUSTIN BIEBER is coming up. Bet you didn’t know that. Carson has only reminded us a zillion times.
Wait what? A video package focused on the contestants? I don’t think we’ve seen enough of the coaches! *ahem*. OH BOY THE FINAL 4 all WIN A CAR FROM KIA. They can choose any model.
Did you know that Justin Bieber is coming? Carson tells us one more time.
Justin Beiber FINALLY takes the stage to sing his single “Boyfriend” and it’s…hm. He’s not a good live singer. He’s quite the fancy dancer, however.
Twitter chick is backstage with the Top 4, where Chris Mann snarks on the Biebs. Why you be hatin, man?
FINALLY THE RESULTS. Ugh. Now Carson is chatting up the contestants. WE DON’T CARE. TELL US WHO WON. Carson says the race was close.
1st place – Jermaine Paul (Team Blake)
2nd place- Juliet Simms (Team Cee Lo)
3rd place – Tony Lucca (Team Adam)
4th place – Chris Mann (Team Christina)
