Blake should totally release his "Soul Man" duet with Jermaine as a single. Just sayin'.
This was, hands down, my FAVORITE night of "The Voice" all year.
Monday began the two-night season finale of NBC's reality competition, with Juliet, Chris, Jermaine and Tony each performing a song, plus a duet with their respective coaches and -- as a surprise -- singing a tribute song sung
by their coaches
to their coaches.
All the awesome talent wasn't the only draw Monday evening, however; it was also the drama.
A silly case in point: host Carson Daly commenting after a season retrospective, first addressing Blake Shelton.
"You're one of the biggest country acts on the planet," Carson told Blake.
"Well, thank you, Carson," Blake said.
"Unfortunately, it is true," Carson said, then segued into something else. Umm ... Ouch? What the heck was that?
A skosh more seriously, though, as I told y'all Monday afternoon on my blog, fellow "Voice" coaches Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine had an altercation during rehearsal Monday, according to info from RadarOnline.com. Long story short, Xtina's been snippy toward Tony, Adam's protege, since calling one of his live performances "one-dimensional." Things have only seemed to escalate mildly since then -- as in, RadarOnline.com reported Adam called Xtina a "f****** c***." A tad severe, don'tcha think?
Anyway, the tension was evident when Tony sang Jay-Z's "99 Problems" -- as in, "and a b**** ain't one." Hence the drama at rehearsal, when Xtina allegedly took that as a dig.
Tony's version was a country-flavored one and fun as all get-out -- a highlight of the evening, no less. But what happened after that almost stole his thunder.
Xtina said it was a little derogatory toward women but that his performance was good.
Perhaps as an apology, Adam whipped off his shirt and unveiled a black T-shirt with the words "Team Xtina" emblazoned in pink glitter. Awww ... I thought it was sweet.
Before all that, Jermaine from Blake Shelton's team sang "I Believe I Can Fly." It was beautiful, but it was a tad too close to R. Kelly's original version. Still, he did a great job, eliciting praise from everyone.
"That's what this show is all about," Xtina said. "You shined like a superstar."
For his live performance, Chris sang "You Raise Me Up." Like Jermaine did, Chris' song reminded me of the original singer, this one being Josh Groban.
Still, Chris did a beautiful job.
"You are, by far, one of the most incomparable vocalists I've heard," opposing coach Cee Lo Green said.
"Thanks for raising
me up," Xtina said. "I'm very moved by you."
Cee Lo's Juliet, who many predict will win the whole season, sang "Free Bird." It was a great rock-star performance.
The duets were entertaining, my favorites being Chris and Xtina's version of "The Prayer," and Blake and Jermaine's version of "Soul Man."
For their surprise songs, Juliet sang "Crazy," Chris sang "The Voice Within," Tony sang "Harder to Breathe" and, the BEST tribute of the evening, Jermaine sang Blake's "God Gave Me You." That was really cool.
Not as cool as when everyone was onstage at the end, and Xtina kneed Adam in the groin. Just kidding! But wouldn't that be fabulous water-cooler convo for Tuesday?
Speaking of Hump Day Eve, be sure to watch the two-hour finale 8-10 p.m. Tuesday on KJRH, channel 2 -- and be on the look-out for Jamar Rogers, who told me last week he'll be on the show in some capacity.
Peace, love and ******** ... XOXO
