Photo by: Trae Patton - NBC Pictured: (l-r) Britton Buchanan, Brynn Cartelli, Spensha Baker, Kyla Jade
UPDATE: Brynn Cartelli has won The Voice. The final 2 were narrowed down to Cartelli and contestant Britton Buchanan.
The season 14 finale of The Voice is here and it is broken down into three episodes. Part 1 of the finale airs tonight, from 8 – 10 p.m. ET/PT on the NBC network. Then, a highlights episode will air on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, from 8 – 9 p.m. ET/PT, following by the grand, two-hour-long finale. The live results will be revealed at the end of the grand finale episode.
Spensha Baker from Team Blake, Britton Buchanan from Team Alicia, Brynn Cartelli from Team Kelly and Kyla Jade from Team Blake, are the top 4 finalists vying to become the season 14 winner. Adam Levine is the only coach without a contestant in the finale.
When it comes to tonight’s performances, along with the grand finale performers, there are a ton of big stars in the mix. For tonight’s finale competition, each contestant is required to sing an original song, a new cover song and a duet with their coach. Tomorrow night, Jason Aldean, James Bay, Big Sean, Florence + The Machine, Halsey, Dua Lipa, and season 13 winner Chloe Kohanski will all take the stage as well. And, the top 4 finalists will have the opportunity to perform with award-winning music artists. Get to know which celebrities they will each be performing with, along with the background on the top 4 below.
Spensha Baker
Spensha Baker is one of two contestants on Blake Shelton’s team who is included in the finale. For Baker’s original song, she will perform “Old Soul”, which Daily Mail reported as being written by Sam James, Marti Dodson and Kat Higgins. Her other two performances for tonight are “Merry Go Round” by Kacey Musgraces and “Tell Me About It” by Tanya Tucker. Also, at some point during the two-part finale country star Kane Brown will perform his hit song “What Ifs”, alongside Baker.
In an interview with Reality TV World, Baker said she gets advice on her experience being on the show from her mother, explaining that, “My mom said it best, you know, ‘Nothing is a shoo-in, nothing is guaranteed, so you really have to give your best each time and pray that it will work out.”
And when it comes to the kind of music Baker likes to focus on, she said, “I think country, you know, I always say that my voice has a soulful aspect to it. I think we can hear a little bit more of that on country radio right now. And so, I think in terms of musical direction, that’s sort of the lane that I would fit into, along the lines of Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris, etc.” With her love of country, Shelton was a good choice as a coach. And, with his having TWO contestants in the finale, there’s a 50/50 chance he could win this season.
Britton Buchanan
Britton Buchanan was reportedly close to being sent home last week, but he has made it to the finale. He was actually one of the first contestants voted through by the public, into the top 12, but his fellow finalists were voted through by the public as well.
Buchanan definitely has a mature voice, especially for his age, and he can also play the guitar. He has surely been winning the hearts of teens across the country. In an interview with the Sanford Herald, Buchanan said that he’s been fortunate enough on the show to have gotten to perform songs that he already knows or is familiar with. He joked that if he got assigned a song he didn’t know, he might have a panic attack.
When it comes to his performances on tonight’s show, he is singing “Good Lovin'” by The Rascals and “Wake Me Up” by Avicii, featuring Aloe Blacc. His original song is titled “Where You Come From” and Miss J’s Blog has reported that he actually wrote the song himself. During the grand finale, Grammy-nominated singer Ryan Adams will join Buchanan to perform his hit single “To Be Without You”.
Brynn Cartelli
Brynn Cartelli hails from Kelly Clarkson’s team and she has been a favorite this season. She is only 14 years old and she already is a force to be reckoned with on The Voice, as she is one of the front-runners, who has been able to keep away from being in the bottom of the votes. She is currently juggling a busy school schedule, while also playing lacrosse, but she has been able to move her way up on the show each week.
Recently, Cartelli spoke with Mass Live about her experience on The Voice and she said that, “The reality of being at The Voice hasn’t sunk in yet. I am still in this competition so it seems like normal life even though it’s all a dream come true.” When Cartelli performs on the grand finale of the show, she will actually be joined by Julia Michaels, who was an adviser on Adam Levine’s team this season. Michaels also happens to have co-written Cartelli’s original song for the show, which is titled “Walk My Way”. The song was written by Michaels, Justin Tranter and Nick Monson.
For her performances, Cartelli is also set to deliver renditions of “Skyfall” by Adele and “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House. She will also perform a medley of “Issues” and “Jump” with Michaels.
Kyle Jade
Kyla Jade is on Blake Shelton’s team this season and she has continued to grow throughout the show. Some have remembered Jade from when she was a part of BET’s gospel show Bobby Jones Gospel, but now she is taking center stage on The Voice. She also has performed as a backup singer for former Voice coach Jennifer Hudson. So, it’s truly a dream for her to take the stage with Hudson during the finale. Hudson is scheduled to appear with Jade in order to perform her song “I Know Where I’ve Been”.
Jade said that her musical influences stem from her Pentecostal church and her mom. She grew up singing in church and has followed her musical passions into adulthood. She hopes to break away from singing in the background and become a star.
For her original song on the finale, she is set to perform a song called “The Last Tear,” which is written by Tommy Sims and Randy Goodrum. Jade is also performing the songs “With a Little Help from my Friends” by The Beatles and “Only Love” by Wynonna Judd, as reported by Daily Mail.