‘The Voice’ final 4 close in on the champion’s crown
After wowing viewers with their vocals, only one remaining contestant can be the winner of NBC’s The Voice.
The two-night, 11th-season finale event begins Monday (8 p.m.), and a champion will be crowned Tuesday (9 ET/PT).
Miley Cyrus no longer has an artist in the singing competition, but at least she has the memory of singing Jolene with her godmother, Dolly Parton, and Pentatonix to console her. Coaches Alicia Keys, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton still have prodigies vying for the recording contract grand prize.
Here’s how the finalists stuck around.
JOSH GALLAGHER, TEAM ADAM
The former jock who left college to pursue a career in music caught the attention of Shelton and Keys. Though the Girl on Fire singer was hoping to make “magic” with Gallagher, he formed an alliance with Shelton. During the knockout round, Gallagher, 26, faced off against teammate Sun- dance Head, whom Shelton declared the victor, and was snagged by Levine.
Head wandered from the country genre, while the Johnstown, Pa., native rarely strayed, delivering performances of Zac Brown Band’s Colder Weather and My
Maria by Brooks & Dunn. (An exception: a performance of Dan
ny’s Song by Loggins and Messina during the semifinals). Gallagher might’ve gathered a larger following if he stepped out from his comfort zone, but voters awarded him an instant save. The Grammy-nominated contestant, who was celebrated as a young country artist, has performed as a pop singer since the blind auditions, when his rendition of Adele’s When We
Were Young compelled all four judges to turn their chairs. The clip has more than 10 million views on YouTube.
On Team Adam, the 28-yearold from Westerly, R.I., consistently delivered powerful performances. He advanced by beating Andrew DeMuro in the battle rounds and Ponciano Seoane in the knockouts.
Gilman delighted the coaches when he paid respect to his country roots on the Top 10 show with a performance of Martina McBride’s Anyway accompanied by a sea of string instruments. His version of Céline Dion’s I Surren
der backed by a choir drew praise from his coach.
SUNDANCE HEAD, TEAM BLAKE
It didn’t take long for coaches Shelton and Levine to turn their chairs for Head’s soulful version of Otis Redding ’s I’ve Been Loving
You Too Long during the blind auditions. Shelton’s signature finger- pointing worked on the musician, who sports a whimsical braid in his beard, but that didn’t stop Head from paying homage to the other Voice coaches. The Houston native delivered an impassioned performance of coach Cyrus’ 2009 hit The Climb during knockouts, taking down Gallagher.
Head, 37, who also competed on Season 6 of American Idol, put a country twist on Keys’ No One when the competition was whittled to 11.
WÉ MCDONALD, TEAM ALICIA
The velvety voice of Keys’ sole remaining artist had the coaches
Feeling Good during her blind audition. Blown away by her age and high-pitched speaking voice, each made a pitch for their team, but ultimately McDonald, 17, opted to join Keys’ squad.
With a strong voice, the girl from New York’s Harlem came out on top in a battle round with Lauren Diaz and during knockouts against Courtnie Ramirez.
McDonald has developed a following by mastering a range of genres, wowing viewers with Billie Holiday’s God Bless the Child, Hozier’s Take Me to Church and hits by Rihanna.