‘The Voice’ 925 Meet Your Final Four: Jordan, Emily, Barrett & Jeffrey

the voice 925 meet your final four 2015 images

the voice 925 meet your final four 2015 imagesIt was the night of the big cut on NBC’s The Voice. On tonight’s episode, the Top 9 artists were cut down to the Final 4. This leaves the elite few to battle it out in the Live Finale, airing next week.

Since last night’s episode, it has been revealed that singer Jordan Smith (of Team Adam) was able to knock Adele’s hit song “Hello” off the top of the iTunes Chart. Thus, ending Adele’s five-week reign.  While admittedly I am more of an Adele fan than Jordan, he definitely had an incredible performance last night, as he belted out Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”

The episode kicks off with a performance from the winner of The Voice’s Season 3, Cassadee Pope.  Cassadee, who is a former Team Blake member, sang her latest single “I Am Invincible.”

Shortly after, country legend (and Miley Cyrus’ godmother) Dolly Parton dropped by and gave some advice to all of the Top 9 contenders. She gives them the typical advice of not to give up and claims they will all succeed as long as they stay true to who they are.

Finally, Carson Daly has all of the Top 9 join him on stage. After asking Barrett a pageant contest question, Carson goes on to reveal the first artist to make it to the finals. Unsurprisingly, Jordan Smith of Team Adam is the first to win a spot (although Carson claims the names are read in no particular order). Since Jordan’s performance last night was undoubtedly the best out of all of his (and any other artists’) performances this season, I don’t think anyone was shocked by the result. In addition, as soon as Jordan blew people away with his blind audition of “Chandelier” by Sia, it became apparent that he was going to make it far – if not all the way – in this season’s competition.

The remaining eight contestants once again join Carson back on the stage. After a few more minutes of Q and A between Carson and the contestants, he announces the second artist who has earned a spot in the Final 4: Team Blake’s Emily Ann Roberts. Last night, Emily performed a fun, blue grass rendition of “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton. Although I am not a country fan, I wanted Emily to get voted in as she definitely has all of the qualities of a country star. I feel like she has the potential to have a career similar to Carrie Underwood or maybe even Taylor Swift.

After a quick commercial break, the show returns for a performance from guest Dolly Parton. Parton sings her 1971 classic, “Coat of Many Colors.”

Next, after Braiden Sunshine once again tries to make a joke about how he thought auditioning for the show was a “waste of gas money,” Carson announces the third artist to make it through to next week. Carson reveals that another member of Team Blake is in the Final 4, Barrett Baber.

I am shocked. I did not see this coming, as I have never caught on to the appeal of Barrett as an artist. Yes, he has a good voice, but other than that I just don’t get it. I guess there are enough country fans out there. Nonetheless, not too pleased with this part of the results.

After 3 out of the Final 4 are announced, Carson reveals that 3 of the remaining artists will be singing for the last instant save of the season. These artists are Jeffrey Austin (Team Gwen), Zach Seabaugh (Team Blake) and Madi Davis (Team Pharrell).

Unfortunately, this means that Amy Vachal (Team Adam), Shelby Brown (Team Adam) and Braiden Sunshine (Team Gwen) are all sent out without even a shot at redemption. While I am happy to see Braiden go and indifferent about Shelby, I am sad that Amy wasn’t voted in or at least given a shot to sing for the instant save. However, I have to admit that the 3 singers who were chosen to sing for the instant save all have proven their talent and deserve their spots. (Although arguably I would say Amy deserves it over Zach).

The first of the bottom 3 to perform is Zach Seabaugh, who sings “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw. Unfortunately, I think Zach’s nerves got the best of him, as he sounded a lot more shaky than usual. In addition, the song didn’t really give him any big opportunities to win over voters.

The next singer to perform is Madi Davis of Team Pharrell, who sings “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House. Overall, I liked the song choice, and I think it suited her unique tone. Unfortunately, it seemed that nerves got to Madi too, as she had a couple of noticeable blimps in her usually flawless vocals.

Lastly, Jeffrey takes the stage with “Make It Rain” by Ed Sheeran. He absolutely kills it. He brought back the Jeffrey that I have been a fan of the whole season, but felt was missing last week. He gave a sultry, dramatic performance that showcased his range. He could not have chosen a better song to fight for his life with. You can tell this guy had a bad breakup not too long ago, and this pain is definitely being used productively as odd as that may sound. As he does those heartbreak songs so beautifully, hopefully he won’t have to keep getting his heart broken to keep us listening.

After the last commercial break, Carson announces the artist who was instantly saved by viewers: Team Gwen’s Jeffrey Austin. Thus, sending Madi and Zach home and eliminating Pharrell from the running of being the winning coach of the season.

So who is the Top 4?

  1. Jordan Smith of Team Adam
  2. Emily Ann Roberts of Team Blake
  3. Barrett Baber of Team Blake
  4. Jeffrey Austin of Team Gwen

Pharrell Williams got shut out this season.

Tune in next week, Monday, December 14, to catch Part I of the Live Finale on NBC’s The Voice.