While most seasons of The Voice have done away with team quotas in the Live Playoffs, thus allowing the top-getters to advance regardless of coach affiliation, that hasn’t been the case this year. On this Tuesday’s live results show — as was the case with Season 18 back in May 2020, when the series reinstated team quotas with no explanation — one contestant from each team was voted through to next week’s Season 19 finale. But even with the recent format switch, of course Blake Shelton, the winningest coach in Voice history, managed to get both of his contestants into the finals, after all of the remaining artists competed for the last Instant Save of the season.
What was surprising was that Team Blake’s Jim Ranger — who did a ho-hum Harry Nilsson cover in Monday’s dreaded “death spot” while standing on top of a giant Styrofoam rock, for some reason — was voted through to the finale, instead of his arguably more interesting teammate, pack-a-day husker Ian Flanigan. (Joining Jim in the fan-voted top four were Team Kelly soul diva DeSz, Team Legend opera powerhouse John Holiday, and Team Gwen teen prodigy Carter Rubin. No shockers there.)
“I’ve got to say, there's part of me that's surprised,” admitted Blake when host Carson Daly announced the public voting results, telling Ian, “You and Jim have been all season one-upping each other every time you perform. And I really feel strongly that America loves you and they're going to pull you out of this, and you're going to be in the finale. I mean, this guy, this is a once-in-a-lifetime voice. You're never going to hear a voice ever again, unless it's at an Ian concert. So vote him in, America! Let's vote him in again tonight.”
Along with Ian, four other contestants then vied for the final spot via the Instant Save, starting Team Gwen’s also-ran country crooner, Ben Allen. Ben played it safe, as usual, with Matt Stell’s “Prayed for You” (although doing a God song probably wasn’t a bad idea), and he never stood a chance. Neither did Team Legend’s country singer, Bailey Rae, who went the corny county-fair route with “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” hardly the sort of “Save Me” song to get the votes at this crucial moment. (But let’s face it, only a country artist coached by either Blake or Kelly Clarkson would ever stand a chance on this show.) Team Kelly’s alt-pop chanteuse Cami Clune then did a lovely job with Billie Eilish’s “When the Party’s Over,” showcasing her delicate head voice, but it was too copycat, and too serene and restrained – this would have been the perfect time to pull out a fiery fight song like “I Put a Spell on You.” So Cami’s Voice party would soon be over.
So, that left really the only two contestants with a chance of advancement, Team Legend’s Tamara Jade and Team Blake’s above-mentioned Ian. Tamara came out swinging with “Feeling Good” — a genuine, classic Save Me song. (Yes, it’s a song with a history of cursing contestants on American Idol, but on The Voice, it seemed like it might bring Tamara good luck.) The powerhouse contestant was vamping it up – swaggering, sexy, superhumanly confident, and truly putting on a show. She was a thrill to watch. Conversely, Ian was tender and vulnerable on Travis Tritt’s “Anymore” (wisely choosing to play to Blake’s base with a straight country song, after Monday’s outside-the-box Sarah McLachlan cover didn’t score the top votes). This was a heartfelt performance, impactful in its own quiet way, and it was a shame that Ian and Tamara, such very different artists, couldn’t both go through. But if you’ve been reading this carefully, then you already know that Ian prevailed.
This season’s top five is without a doubt a strong bunch, one of the strongest in years, but Tamara still would have been a fantastic addition to the finale. Not only was she one of Seaosn 19’s finest singers, but one of its most vivacious personalities (she was the only contestant Tuesday who gave actually entertaining answers to Carson’s predictable, stalling-for-time softball questions). Maybe if the team quotas hadn’t been a factor, she could have made the top five. Oh, who am I kidding? Blake’s so popular, his team was probably always destined to dominate the Season 19 finale. (Please note, there were two Team Blake contestants in last season’s finale as well... and they placed first and second.)
But will Blake actually win at next week’s Season 19 finale, thus bringing his total triumph tally to eight? Of that, I am not so sure. On paper, he has a 40 percent chance, but his offscreen fiancé/onscreen rival Gwen Stefani’s golden child, Carter — who surely would have been a lock for the finals with or without team quotas — seems like this season’s one to beat. Either way, it appears that a “Shefani” victory is imminent. See you then.
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