What saved the performance, though, was the rawness of the country contestant’s emotions: I mean, that break in his voice as the music dropped out on the final chorus activated my tear ducts like a bell to Pavlov’s dogs (or the flash of a camera to a Kardashian). The voting public, however, will probably be more discerning, which means last week’s Wild Card winner will have to settle for the “it was an honor just to make the finale” statuette.Ĭraig Wayne Boyd (Team Blake): Alabama’s “In Pictures” - Grade: B+ | Did Craig give us absolute perfection on this schmaltzy love letter from an on-the-road musician dad to his growing child? I cannot answer in the affirmative (thanks to some wobbly intonation in the second verse and a smattering of swallowed words throughout). But lest we forget, this is The Voice, a program that threw the final shovel-load of dirt on criticism’s grave about three seasons ago. Before I wind up in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven in Duluth, let’s grade tonight’s performances - not listed in chronological order, just so we can compare like vs like.ĭamien (Team Adam): Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You” - Grade: C | Not one coach pointed out the fact that Damien either forgot his lyrics or missed his cue on the line “you taught me precious secrets” - and that his grasp of pitch slipped through his fingers like a gallon of Wesson in the aftermath of his misstep. (Sidebar: How come no one ever covers The Doors on reality singing competitions anymore? My brain can only recall “Light My Fire” during Season 7 Hollywood Week of American Idol.) But here’s hoping Pharrell, Gwen, Blake and Adam double-down on these chaps in 2014 and use their pop-cultural currency to help one or two of ’em break on through to the other side. What radio - the place where fresh voices go and smash their foreheads into concrete walls - does with the eventual winner (and his immediate runners-up), only time will tell. It’s quite another to have them deliver an entirely new audio experience straight to your ears - and in the course of three minutes, make you say, “Yes, I will willingly add this to my iTunes playlist, somewhere between Beyoncé and Róisín Murphy.” (Subject for future internal dialogue: Do I inexplicably fall for artists whose names contain accented vowels? Or, in other words, would I like Season 7’s inevitable fourth-place finisher any better if his name was Dámíén? #perhaps)Īnyhow, the excellent “Contestants’ Singles” round, combined with majorly fun duets and one final set of solid (albeit mostly risk-free) covers, combined to make Season 7’s performance finale The Voice‘s strongest episode in the last 12 weeks. July 30: San Jose, CA (City National Civic)Īug.Because it’s one thing to hear a TSA agent or a college student present a kickin’ cover of somebody else’s radio hit. July 29: Los Angeles, CA (Nokia Theatre L.A. July 27: San Diego, CA (San Diego Civic Theatre) July 26: Indio, CA (Fantasy Springs Resort Special Events Center) July 25: Las Vegas, NV (The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino)
July 22: Denver, CO (Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre) July 19: Milwaukee, WI (Milwaukee Riverside Theater) July 17: Minneapolis, MN (Mystic Lake Casino Hotel) July 15: Detroit, MI (Masonic Temple Theatre) July 14: Cleveland, OH (Playhouse Square – State Theatre) July 12: Mashantucket, CT (The Grand Theater at Foxwoods) July 11: Niagara Falls, NY (Seneca Niagara Events Center) July 10: Toronto, ON Sony (Centre for the Performing Arts) July 8: Baltimore, MD (Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric) July 5: Atlantic City, NJ (The Mark Etess Arena at Trump Taj Mahal) July 3: Lowell, MA (Lowell Memorial Auditorium) June 30: Charlotte, NC (Ovens Auditorium) June 29: Atlanta, GA (Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre) June 27: Orlando, FL (Bob Carr Performing Arts Center) June 26: Fort Lauderdale, FL (Broward Center for the Performing Arts) June 23: Houston, TX (Bayou Music Center) June 22: Grand Prairie, TX (Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie) June 21: San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theatre) The season six finale airs May 20 on NBC. According to a press release, another fan favorite will be announced in May. A handful of favorites from previous seasons have been confirmed as well: season five champion Tessanne Chin, other season five favorites Jacquie Lee and Will Champlin and Dia Frampton from season one. This season’s winner, second place and third place contestants are all guaranteed to be along for the ride.
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