The Voice 24 Finale: Ruby Leigh Puts Her Spin on Elvis and The Eagles Classics
The Voice Season 24 is coming to an end, and Monday night was the first night of the finale with each of the five finalists taking the stage for two performances, one an uptempo song, and another a ballad. The night was a bit lackluster with some song choices being misses, but the youngest of the competition, Ruby Leigh, had a few great picks which lent themselves crowd pleasing moments..
Team Reba McEntire’s 16-year-old classic country singer had a very good night–her best night since the playoffs. And it came at just the right time as she performs one last time for America votes.
Prior to her first performance, viewers relive Ruby’s path to the finale. She says being a finalist feels “pretty incredible thanks to Reba” who calls Ruby a “stylist” over just a “singer.” She says, “you know when Ruby comes on the radio.”
Ruby has been through so much
The video package highlights Rudy’s yodeling audition where she turned all four chairs and chose Reba, her yodeling knockout of the beloved 90s hit “Blue,” and her breakout playoffs performance of Linda Ronstadt’s “Long Long Time.” John Legend remarked that it sounded like she “had been through so much.” She gets emotional when talking to host Carson Daly, sharing that a tornado in which her family lost everything informed her emotional performance. The young singer always has had to be mature as she had to “act like an adult” at jam sessions to get invites back.
For her uptempo number, Ruby closes the first hour with her rendition of the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Elvis Presley’s, “Suspicious Minds”. In rehearsal, Reba says “it’s perfect because everybody knows this song.” Reba says that Ruby needs to bring “fireworks” to the finale. In the performance, Ruby is in full command of the vocal as she brings power and angst to the stage. The yodel is present in her voice, but it’s subtle. This is her best vocal since the pre-taped rounds. Her tone is very pleasing on this Elvis number, and she hits a few glory notes. I do think she could’ve started quieter to build the dynamics more, but this performance was very good.
“Your voice has so much heft, maturity, and power,” John observes. And he still cannot believe she is so young. Reba says, “you have amazed every time you get on that stage,” adding “Elvis Presley may have recorded it first, but you ruby-ized it.”
Ruby’s biggest supporters are her family
Ruby hears from her biggest supporters ahead of her final performance. Rhonda Vincent from the Grand Ole Opry gives her a message, saying “I remember when you were just a tiny, little girl and you were singing for me.” She wishes Ruby good luck. She also hears a good luck message from George Portz’s Bluegrass Band. Ruby responds, “to have these people behind me is just incredible.” She also hears from family members. He sister tells Ruby to show “the world who the hell Ruby Leigh is.” And finally she hears from both of her parents who wish her luck. “You’ve inspired so many young kids to take a chance,” says her dad, “Don’t be afraid to dream. You make me so proud.”
She finishes her set with the crowd pleasing ballad from The Eagles, “Desperado.” The song displays her impressive range and showcases an ache in her tone. She hits most of the notes, but the key could have been even slightly higher as some of her low notes were a bit off. Nevertheless, the emotive performance rounds off Ruby’s best night of singing. The show-stopping number would have made more sense to be the closing performance over the gritty Creed song from Huntley.
Gwen Stefani remarked, “Sometimes you just want to cry on TV,” adding that it is “mesmerizing that you’re 16 and can sing like that.” Reba loved the song choice, saying “you know what you can do, and you do it so well.”
Huntley and Mara Justine are also in the running
Ruby may be crowned the winner, but fan favorite Huntley is also in the running even though his songs were a bit off-kilter (“Another Love” by Tom Odell and “Higher” by Creed”) Monday night. Other than Ruby and Huntley’s performances, Mara Justine also has a chance at the crown, since her ballad, a rendition of Adele’s “Turning Tables,” was stunning. And she nailed “Piece of My Heart.” Jacquie Roar and Lila Forde’s performances did not move the needle, and it is likely they will round out the top 5 in the 4th and 5th slots. It’ll be interesting to see if Ruby, who I believe is the favorite, pulls off the win or if it is another fan-favorite Huntley who takes the prize. As I mentioned before, Mara could also pull an upset.
