It’s the last chance to vote for your favorite The Voice contestants! Cassadee Pope, Terry McDermott and Nicholas David perform tonight for the crown. The winner will be announced tomorrow on the big finale.

I am absolutely sure the winner of The Voice 3 will be….Blake Shelton.  Cee Lo Green’s contestant, Nicholas David does not have a chance in hades of winning this thing.  Being the underdog, he needed GREAT performances tonight and he just did not deliver.  His personal song choice, the Jerry Lee Jimi mashup was totally cruise ship material. The duet with Cee Lo was…all about Cee Lo and his reprise performance was anti-climatic.  Hello 3rd place!

Although I’ve seen stronger performances from her–Cassadee was solid. All of her song choices emphasized her strengths–as a female pop singer with the ability to convey big emotions through song.  She knows how to hit those all important money notes and look pretty while doing it. She’s got a radio friendly pop voice and is the most viable and current contestant. She’d be a winner with a chance at a career.

But you can’t underestimate the Power of the Penis.  Terry McDermott is youngish (but not too young), cute, a sweet family man–three characteristics that resonate strongly with the older female demo who typically votes on these shows.  If all the throwback fans are busy voting for either Terry or  Nicholas. Marbe Cassadee has a chance.  But then, Cassadee came in to this thing with a solid fanbase from her Hey Monday days. Or maybe she’ll be the only contestant to reach the iTunes Top 10, and those 10x extra points will put her over the top. I’m sure that Cassadee’s “Cry” will be at least in the top 5, if not the top spot.

Terry’s tune, “Broken Wing” was another emotional gut buster, so I expect he’ll land somewhere in the top 10 as well.  Blake Shelton has proven to be a savvy coach. He’s pretty good at figuring out what it is about his charges that resonates with viewers, and then proceeds to exploit the hell out of it.  He also never overshadows his contestants, he gives them the spotlight when needed.  Nudging Cassadee into the country pop direction was just pure genius.  Heartfelt country ballads are beloved by a wide cross-section of viewers. More than say, a Pink song.  Blakes done a great job of playing the middle with Cassadee, yet keeping her current.  I would say, at this point, she deserves to win.

But…but…but…there is Terry and his big throwback 80′s voice, and his adorable shag haircut and his love of family. Blah blah blah. Personally, I don’t find what he’s about all that interesting. His taste in music is problem number 1  for me.  I wish Blake would have worked a little harder to nudge him out of his box a little. But, in the end, Terry has been the most successful with the 80′s stuff.  There’s a great love for the music of his favorite genre, and he sings it well. Even if Terry seems more suited touring with a tribute band rather than as a pop star in his own right, I still think he could win.

I’ve got to sleep on it to make a prediction.

A couple of other notes:  I suppose it’s a blessing that we didn’t hear much blah blah from the coaches, but isn’t final night the week they would all want to get a word in edgewise, even if for some extra pimping, or the opportunity to throw a contestant under the bus.  To the coaches credit, there was none of the latter going on.  Still, the coaches managed to exert their influence on The Voice Stage. I feel strongly that on Final night, the contestants should be THE ONLY FOCUS.  Sure, sing duets with your coaches, but how about saving it for the finale when it doesn’t affect the outcome?  Anything that takes the focus off the contestants on such a big night is pitiful.  Also, tonight felt like any other night of competition–particularly with the yawn-inducing (and downright goofy) song choices.  Overall, I was underwhelmed with tonight’s show. All 3 contestants have performed better in the past. But, it’s not unusual for the Final to be a let down. At this point, the kids are just about out of gas.

Click to Download The Voice Performances from iTunes

So. The coaches, contestants, and Carson Daley are singing “Hallelujah” while holding placards that have the names and ages of the victims of the Newtown school shooting printed on them. I don’t know how I feel about this to be honest. It’s a little much.

The pre-taped cold open makes way for a recap of the season, and sound bites from the three finalists. There will be solos by the finalists, and “special” duets with the coaches!

Nicholas David – Team Cee Lo – Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis mashed with Fire by Jimi Hendrix – WTF? Worst song choice ever. Nicholas’ piano is ON FIRE as he sings. CHEESY. This is exactly the kind of song YOU ABSOLUTELY DON’T PERFORM ON FINAL NIGHT. It’s a total throw away. The Hendrix part is a little better. But seriously, it’s like a mediocre Las Vegas lounge act, straight down to the sparkly suit jacket. I have no quarrel with his vocals, but the final is THE TIME TO BRING IT. This is pretty silly. He wasn’t going to win in any case, so I guess it doesn’t matter. And he probably knows it.  Nicholas probably figures…why not go out having a little fun? Adam says, “This is so great.” Adam thinks it’s awesome that he performed a throw away performance. Not surprising that Adam has nobody left in the compeition.  Blake, who must BE THRILLED WITH THAT RIDICULOUS PERFORMANCE, thanks him for being so entertaining. Cee Lo says, “You’re fire burned this house down. I loved it. I am forever a fan of yours.” 1-855-864-2301 or Sprint text 1 to 8642

Cassadee Pope – Team Blake – “Over You” by Miranda – And Cassadee is playing to win! She reprises one of her big, emotional ballads. And its theme of loss pings the nation’s sense of grieving in the wake of tragedy.  And you make sure your coach makes the connection, if the audience isn’t able to do it for themselves.  That’s how you get viewers to pick up the phone, OK?  Having said that,the song was one of Cassadee’s best performances of the season, so good pick.  I don’t think it measured up to her first, chilling rendition, but Cassadee did it justice again.  Christina says, “You look drop dead gorgeous. You nailed that song once again. Sky’s the limit for you. Adam says, “You’ve developed your voice so much.” Blake says, “You know how I feel about that song. It’s perfect. America’s heart is heavy right now. It was a great moment. Music starts the healing process.” 1-855-864-2303 or Sprint text 3 to 8642

Terry McDermott and Blake Shelton – Team Blake – “Dude Looks Like  Lady” by Aerosmith – Blake flew in Terry’s father, whom the singer hadn’t seen in 4 years.  Aw. Adam is playing guitar…inexplicably wearing dreads. Is he supposed to be all rock n’ roll or something?  That was ALSO pretty ridiculous. But better to leave the silliness to the coach duet. Again, that was one of those throwaway performances you toss off on results night.  If I didn’t hate the song so much, I probably would have enjoyed it. 1-855-864-2302 or Sprint text 2 to 8642

Nicholas David- “Lean on Me” – One of Nicholas’ best cover reveals how deeply soulful and musical he is. It didn’t have the same impact the first version did, but it’s still very good. Adam says, “You look like a principal..of the school of funky stuff. Version of that song is killer.”  What? Cee Lo says, “You never cease to amaze me. I appreciate you so much. I believe in you. I love you.” GET A ROOM FELLAS.

Terry McDermott – “Broken Wing” by Mr. Mister – Mr mullet 80′s guy! So original! So refreshing. Not.  OMG. This song choice is making me stabby. OK. I get that it’s his son’s favorite song, but MR. MISTER? Really, what does a kid know. You’re in this to win a contest, dammit.  Thing is, it probably doesn’t matter, because he has a pretty good chance of winning, regardless.   I’m not sure what was going on, but he sounded off at the beginning of the song…like his ear piece wasn’t working or something.  Later in the performance he recovers, but he was still kind of pitchy. Adam says, “I could tell there was something going on in the beginning…and you recovered…and frigging nailed it.”  Blake says, “That is hard what he does up there.”

Cassadee Pope and Blake Shelton – “Steve McQueen” by Sheryl Cole – Blake invited Cassadee’s family and boyfriend to his house.  The family, consisting of mom and sister seem very nice. This song is right in Cassadee’s wheelhouse, but I could have done without her singing through a mini-megaphone. That’s really not her thing. Blake wisely hung back–his contribution mainly playing guitar for her in the background. Allowing her to shine is the smart thing. Oh, how I wish Christina still had a contestant in the game, just to watch her hilariously over sing and dominate the duet.

Terry McDermott – “I Wanna Know What Love Is” by Foreigner – This song choice put Terry over the top the first time he sang it–smart to bring it back. But like all of the reprises tonight, I’m not terribly excited to hear any of these performances twice. Christina says, “Your voice is incredible, but to be on this show, it takes strong work ethic…you’re still plowing through and bringing it home.” Blake says, “That was your breakout moment on the show. I think you sang that song better tonight than the first time. You blow me away, I don’t know how you do it.”

Nicholas David and Cee Lo Green – “Play That Funky Music” by Wild Cherry – Wow. Nicholas’ wife thinks winning The Voice means the family will be able to spend more time together. Uhm. No. Another not-to-be-taken-seriously song choice. Once again, lots of fun in a wedding-singer kind of way. Oh look. Go go dancers in cages. YAWN. Wait…WHAT! A little person…yes AN ACTUAL LITTLE PERSON is dressed like a mini-me Cee Lo. Way to take the focus OFF OF THE CONTESTANT. I guess this is supposed to be funny…or something. To say that was NOT FINAL WORTHY doesn’t even begin to describe what I just witnessed. That was like a joke performance from an American Idol finale.

Cassadee Pope – “Cry” by Faith Hill – And Cassadee’s new song is left for the pimp spot. She hits all the expected moments for a final performance. Big notes, loads of emotion, confident stage presence–Cassadee did what she needed to do to put her over the top. But was it enough? I expect this performance will be #1 on iTunes by tomorrow morning.

 
  • justmefornow

    After watching these videos, I too have to say Cassadee probably has this in the bag. She’s really nothing special though, bad lower register, average 90′s pop/rock voice, meh.

    Terry was his usual limited range, week voiced, pitchy self, but lol at Adam playing guitar in the wig.

    Nicholas’ song choices did him no favors, but I loved mini Ceelo, lol, what cheese!

    All in all I’m glad I didn’t waste my time watching this show and just caught the vids here. I really don’t see any of them being big after the show. Oh well.

  • Jae

    Half naked Adam was the best moment in the show followed by mini Cece lo. I personally thought nick was the most entertaining tonight though I wish he had sung something that would clue me in to what sort of album he would put out.

  • mmb

    I can’t muster up an enormous amount of enthusiasm for any of the three, but Cassadee should win IMO.  And I think she probably will win — just don’t think Terry is quite cute enough or his performances quite compelling enough to really grab the female vote (but what do I know….maybe he will win).  Cassadee has confused me a bit on the show.  Is she a kinda 90s pop/rock girl a la Sheryl Crow/Michelle Branch et al?  Is she a pop/country singer?  Is she going in an hac/pop direction or a country direction?  I guess Blake had her do the more country pop stuff because it fits her voice well, and is audience pleasing.  But I thought she came on the show as more of a rock girl.  Just curious as to how she will be marketed after she wins.  In some respects she reminds me of a Carrie U/Kelly C hybrid

  • chillj

    Well, uh, yeah.  I looked at my comment and the comment I responded to later and decided I musta had a giant brain fart.  I think we were discussing totally different topics.

  • jga94

    If it were just about “the voice” I think Terry should win…the Mr. Mister song was a bad choice….granted he leans towards classic rock…he could have chosen cool classic ones…like when he chose The Who or Maybe I’m Amazed….now those are the clssics worth singing in contests……and IMO that song did not suit him so well….I wish he could have sung a U2 song or even Coldplay or Linkin Park

    Nicholas was like throwing away the towel or maybe he just wanted to entertain….idk…

    Cassadee was fine…Blake knows how to hide her weaknesses with the songs he chooses for her….Blake sure did her favors by stirring her in the country pop route….those songs suit her well…nice high register, just not very versatile voice….

  • irockhard

    Well Cassadee’s highest selling songs on iTunes are her country covers, so take guess what will happen when Universal Republic gets their hands on her.

  • irockhard

    Well Cassadee’s highest selling songs on iTunes are her country covers, so take guess what will happen when Universal Republic gets their hands on her.

  • Kirsten

     

    When is the last time a pretty woman won a singing competition? Jordin
    Sparks 5 years ago, but she was a much better singer than Blake Lewis.
    Before that, Carrie Underwood on AI S4. No woman has won The Voice at
    all.

    Melanie Amaro won on the X-Factor US last year.

  • Trina

    Manipulation can only go so far. If manipulating viewers worked like a charm E3 wouldnt have been booted from XF last week. And being a good singer certainly isnt the answer to everything. Javier was a good singer who turned in some beautiful performances and sold well on iTunes. Melanie Amaro was a good singer, some AI winners were good singers but flopped.  And Cassadee, for the first time since Amanda left, I voted for her last night and bought “Cry”. She moved me when she sang that and for the first time I GOT her. I got why shes been dominating iTunes. and why she’s liked. No matter how much producers may want her to win they certainly arent holding a gun to viewers heads forcing people to buy her tracks on there. 

    All that said I think she would make a good winner and probably the first winner TPTB support. I wouldnt be shocked to see Terry win either and I dont mind him. Nick, eh this is where opinions obviously vary. I cant stand to look OR listen to him and IMO if he were to win he would be hidden even more than Jermaine Paul.

  • http://twitter.com/Miztig Miz

    Yeah, I got really pissed at Access Hollywood and ET. It reeked of exploitation.

  • http://twitter.com/Miztig Miz

    I haven’t been watching this show. I was on FB and I started seeing a lot of ‘I voted for Nicholas’ showing up on my timeline. I decided to tune in to see who the heck that was. All I could think of was, really???

    The opening tribute had me bawling.  Hallelujah seems a bizarre choice other than it’s sound and good choice for a choir. These lyrics are especially creepy:

    Maybe there’s a God above
    But all I’ve ever learned from love
    Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew ya

  • TheOther

    A show like The Voice isn’t going to last 11 seasons, if they can’t produce contestants who are marketable. That’s why Idol is still be the gold standard of these types of shows. Even though Lee Dewyze has become the punching bag for not being a successful Idol winner, he will have a better career than any of The Voice winners so far.

  • http://twitter.com/KariannHart Kariann Hart

    I think most people don’t realize those words are there, and they didn’t sing them. 

    Thank you, Voice, for not ignoring our littlest new angels. Tears again but that’s okay.

    I have no issue with anyone, everyone, expressing their despair over this tragic event. 

    I agree with you.  This was tastefully done.  I have been crying a lot, too.  I enjoyed watching The Voice.  It brought me some cheer.  All finalists did a nice job, and I do believe Cassadee will win.

  • chillj

    I can’t watch that stuff any more; there is a lot of stuff I can’t watch any more.

  • chillj

    Holy molly, I sure miss a lot of lyrics.

  • http://twitter.com/KobeAnd8 Kobe

    As of 10 AM EST, these are the rankings and how much copies were sold
    within the last 24 hours:

     

    # 1   Cassadee Pope – Cry (32,057
    copies)

    #6    Terry McDermott -
    Broken Wings (14,025 copies)

    #7    Cassadee Pope – Over
    You (12,985 copies)

    #12  Terry McDermott – I
    Want To Know What Love Is (10,081 copies)

    #14  Nicholas David – Great
    Balls Of Fire/Fire (9,016 copies sold)

    #34  Blake Shelton &
    Terry McDermott – Dude (Looks Like A Lady) (5,259 copies)

    #37  Cee Lo Green &
    Nicholas David – Play That Funky Music (5,009 copies)

    #38  Blake Shelton &
    Cassadee Pope – Steve McQueen (4,946 copies)

    #45  Nicholas David – Lean
    On Me (3,964 copies)

     

     

    Additional singles in the top 100 iTunes chart:

     

    #26   Cassadee Pope – Stupid
    Boy (6,011 copies)

    #73   Terry McFermott – Let
    It Be (2,393 copies)

  • http://twitter.com/Miztig Miz

    Do you have a copy of the lyrics they did sing? 

  • Reflects On Life

    I love what Faith Hill does with Cry (dripping with anger, bitterness, resentment, sarcasm), so Casadee’s version, while well-sung, falls far short.  In fact, I’m not sure I heard any interpretation at all from her.  But people don’t know Cry very well, and it came out long enough ago that the two versions don’t bear immediate comparison.  Ironically, it’s a song that could have been rearranged as a pop-rock anthem or even a pop-punk anthem IMO (given the lyrics especially), so if Casadee had sung it that way, she might have more naturally gravitated to singing it with more zest or anger.

    The best moment of singing in the whole program was Xtina’s solo during Hallelujah. Moved me to tears.

    The whole program last night was either good or entertaining.  The worst was probably the Casadee/Blake duet.  She is quite pitchy when she goes midtempo. And honky-tonk is clearly not her thing. Nicholas’s mashup was just odd, and Terry’s duet with Blake was like 2 buddies singing a ditty over beers after work.

    Overall, I think The Voice US3 did a great job of selecting its top 6.  Many (incl me) might disagree with the order of that 6.  But each deserved to be in the top 6 for different reasons.  A very satisfying and entertaining season of good music overall.

  • http://twitter.com/kuyanyan Yanyan | RR

    Can’t we just give Cassadee the trophy now? Almost all of her songs charted on iTunes Top 200 and she’s the only one with two songs in the Top 10 and three on the Top 50 charts. I like the two contestants but there really is no competition at this point. They might be better singers but they’re just not current enough.

    Terry
    #5 Broken Wings#12 I Want to Know What Love Is
    #73 Let It Be
    #132 Maybe I’m Amazed
    #157 Don’t Stop Believin
    #178 Carry On Wayward SonNick
    #15 Great Balls of Fire/Fire
    #44 Lean On Me
    #127 Somewhere Over The Rainbow
    #140 You Are So Beautiful

    Cass
    #1 Cry#6 Over You#24 Stupid Boy#125 Torn#138 Stand#146 Not Over You#147 I’m With You#163 Are You Happy Now?#195 Payphone