NBC
On Monday, the Top 4 contestants on The Voice competed in the season 17 finale. Each contestant performed a solo cover, as well as a duet with their respective coach. Audiences voted for their favorite contestant, and the winner will be announced during Tuesday night’s results episode.
SPOILER WARNING: We provided recap and live spoilers below. Do not keep reading if you are not caught up on the rest of season 17 and do not want to know what happened during part 1 of the finale.
“The Voice” Season 17 Finale Recap
Ricky Duran (Team Blake) was the first contestant to perform on Monday’s episode, and he covered “Runnin’ Down a Dream” by Tom Petty. The multi-talented artist got to show off his range and his guitar playing, and the coaches were all impressed. Kelly Clarkson commended him for his “incredible range,” and John Legend felt it was exciting to hear Duran take on a classic rock song. Blake Shelton was the most excited of the coaches, as he told Duran that every time he gets on stage, he knows he will see something “awesome.”
Jake Hoot (Team Kelly) was the second performer of the night, and he debuted his original single “Better Off Without You.” He was the only finalist who wrote his original song, and he told the coaches that it was based on his own divorce. The coaches adored the performance, and they complimented Hoot’s subtlety, as well as his honesty.
Kelly called Hoot a “humble human” and a “great writer,” and Gwen Stefani said that she liked seeing him open up as a performer on stage. Katie Kadan (Team Legend) followed Hoot and performed a duet of “Merry Christmas Baby” with her coach.
Rose Short (Team Gwen) took the stage to debut her single “Steamroller.” She told the coaches that she titled the song “Steamroller” because she’s felt like she’s had to bulldoze her way through life. The coaches praised Short for her nuance, and for her ability to carry a mid-tempo track without boring the crowd. Blake said that it was a perfect match of artist and song, while Gwen complimented Short for being “free on stage.” Ricky Duran followed, and to performed a duet of “Run, Run Rudolph!” with coach Blake.
Katie Kadan returned to the stage to debut her single, “All Better.” The song made tremendous use of her vocals, and the performance got the crowd on their feet. Kelly referred to the song as “killer” and “sexy,” while Legend felt it was a perfect marriage of Kadan’s style with modern production.
Jake Hoot treated fans to a charming cover of “Winter Song” with Kelly. The episode then decided to follow up one duet with another, as Rose Short returned to the stage to perform “My Gift is You with Gwen.
Hoot‘s final performance of the night was a cover of “Amazed” by Lonestar. The song fit right into his wheelhouse as a country performer, and the coaches were uniformly impressed. Gwen called it a “beautiful” performance, and Kelly flat out said, “I love you, Jake Hoot!”
Katie Kadan closed out her night with a cover of “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. It was another instance of a song and performer matching perfectly, and the coaches took notice. Blake called the performance flat-out “unbelievable” and Legend said that he was honored to be working with someone who can manage to dazzle him every week.
Ricky Duran brought his night to an end with an original single titled “A Woman Like Her.” The romantic tone of the song suits Duran’s talents, and Kelly compared it to a classic Bruce Springsteen hit. Legend said he was mad he wasn’t pitched the song himself, and Blake called it Duran’s single best performance of the season.
Rose Short closed out the episode with a cover of “Border Song” by Elton John. It proved an inspired choice for Short, as the coaches had nothing but praise for her.Legend called it a beautiful message for the final song of the night and Gwen referred to her as a “magical human being.”
Click below to learn how to cast your vote for Tuesday’s results show.