NBC revealed its four finalists on Wednesday's (June 22) live episode of "The Voice," and it was clearly an emotional experience for the performers and coaches.
"There's something about this show in particular where you feel the love in the room," Christina Aguilera said. The strong bond created between the competitors was expressed in tears shed and promises of continuing friendship. Cee Lo Green even read a poem showing his pride and grief at having to let someone go -- which was affectionately scrawled in a notebook.
The semifinalists opened the show with a fun group rendition of George Michael's "Freedom," while Cee Lo performed his single "Bright Lights, Bigger City." To break up the monotony of announcing the scores, the show aired pre-taped segments of the coaches with their semifinalists, which begs the question: When did the coaches find out who their semifinalists were if they were just announced last night? More TV magic.
Here's how the eliminations went down:
Vicci Martinez beats Nakia
This was a tough one for us and we would have been fine with either one advancing to the finals. Cee Lo gave Nakia the slight edge in his vote by giving him a 51 compared to Vicci's 49. He explained that the drums seemed to overpower her voice at times during her live performance. Then, he said that he watched the televised version and she sounded fine. So, if he were able to change his score, he would give them both an equal 50. In the end, America's votes pushed Vicci's score over Nakia's.
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Javier Colon beats Casey Weston
This was a no-brainer and if Casey advanced, we may have had to go on strike. Alas, she didn't. So, we're back at work tomorrow. Adam Levine did something very interesting here, because he knew that Javier would be his only chance of winning this competition. So to ensure that his stronger singer advances, Levine handicapped the numbers and gave Casey a very sad 35 and Javier a 65. Of course, America has shown very good taste this season and their votes overwhelmingly went with Javier. And while we respect Levine for keeping it real, we're sure Casey isn't too happy about what he did (team spirit only goes so far).
Dia Frampton beats Xenia
If you would have told us during the blind rounds that Blake Shelton would become the softie of The Voice, we would have had told you to get back on your meds. But, that's exactly what happened. He seemed extremely proud and appreciative of both singers and couldn't give one singer a higher score than the other. So, he did a 50-50 split. America then pushed Dia into the winner's circle with their votes.
Beverly McClellan beats Frenchie Davis
We appreciate both these singers, but our love for Frenchie going back to her "American Idol" days clouds our judgment. So, we were hoping she'd advance, knowing that Beverly is probably the stronger performer. What can we say? The heart wants what it wants. Christina, on the other hand, couldn't bring herself to choose one over the other and felt she should leave the decision up to America giving them each a 50. And the viewers decided their finalist is Beverly. Frenchie, until we meet again…
So, America, those are your finalists. Was it the group you were hoping for? Sound off in the comments.