The seventh season finale of The Voice gave us three performances by each of the final remaining contestants. However, there was only ONE performance by each Voice hopeful that mattered; the original song. These songs represent what will likely be their first REAL stab at a post- Voice career and depending on which song and artist is the most marketable, it could indicate who is most likely going to have a show when The Voice comes to an end.
The first Voice finalist we heard from was Craig Wayne Boyd with his Blake Shelton -penned, “My Baby’s Got A Smile On Her Face”.
It’s a romantic and sexy song that the women Voice viewers likely appreciated. The song by Boyd sounds very country radio-friendly, but hopefully it won’t come across as a bit too generic. Otherwise, there’s a good chance that Boyd will find great success with his demographic after The Voice . He seemed to have fun with the melody and performed well.
Matt McAndrew poured his heart and soul into the song “Wasted Love.” The performance seemed to be a mash-up of all of the previous top performances by Matt on The Voice , from “The Blower’s Daughter” to “Take Me To Church.” At least, it features the sincerity and passion poured into those covers. The difference here is that it seems he was able to convey this original song was indeed his own convincingly. This is a big plus for Matt because when a contestant on a show like The Voice performs a song that they don’t fully connect with, it is painfully obvious.
Chris Jamison debuted his very first single “Velvet,” meant to compliment his R&B/pop-friendly style. This definitely has iTunes Top 10 written all over it. It’s easily radio-friendly, and Voice coach Adam Levine should congratulate himself on his careful mentoring of Jamison.
Despite his lack of experience, this song and performance showed that Chris Jamison is far more marketable a Voice finalist than many would have believed weeks ago when he was picked over Taylor Phelan.
Last to perform his original song on The Voice was Damien Lawson with “Soldier.” It was probably one of Damien’s most lively Voice performance outside of last week’s “I Don’t Want To Wait”.
This Voice performance didn’t really show off Damien’s vocal talent in quite the way the other songs did. Even so, this “Lean on Me” flavored song has such an upbeat message that it could be well received by Voice fans.
With regards to each Voice finalist’s chances, it will ultimately come down to two things. Voters will make their choice based on which song sounded best (and will get more iTunes sales) and which finalist has the largest fan base.
Even if a song is good and fits the artist perfectly, it doesn’t mean much if there aren’t persons prepared to open their wallet in order to show support.
Tonight it’s up to YOU to choose #TheVoice of Season 7. Which artist is getting your votes??? #VoiceFinale pic.twitter.com/7KJCN709dv
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) December 16, 2014
Going back over the original songs, each one was very much tied to the specific demographic of the Voice finalist.
Which finalist on The Voice do YOU think had the best original song?
[Image Credit: The Voice Official YouTube]