The Voice Season 26 Finale Recap: And the Winner Is… [Spoiler]
As we reached the end of Season 26 of The Voice Tuesday, the outcome of the sing-off seemed as much a foregone conclusion as that of a one-person race. Team Michael Bublé’s Sofronio Vasquez had been the frontrunner throughout the competition, and going into the results show, he was the strong favorite in TVLine’s polls as both the contestant who will win and should. Teammate Shye wrapped the Top 5 performances Monday with her best showing ever — a glorious rendition of Harry Styles’ “Falling” — but it was likely too little, too late.
So, when all was said and sung, was Sofronio named Season’s 26’s winner — a feat that he hoped would help him bring his mother over from the Philippines? Did Shye pull off an upset? Or did one of the underdogs — Team Reba McEntire’s Danny Joseph, Team Snoop Dogg’s Jeremy Beloate or Team Gwen Stefani’s Sydney Sterlace — come from way behind to shock us all? Before we found out, as per usual, we had to get through a full night of entertainment.
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Starting us off was the Top 8 with a spirited version of “Defying Gravity” from Wicked (as if you didn’t know that) in which Shye was the standout. Season 25 coaches Dan + Shay gave us a pitch-perfect rendition of their holiday hit, “It’s Officially Christmas.” (And thank goodness it was official!) One to watch Myles Smith sent us into orbit with his smash, “Stargazing.” And Season 24 winner Huntley and his amazing hair took us for a rollicking ride down “Skyline Drive.”
Later, country singers Riley Green and Ella Langley brought down the room (albeit in a heartfelt way) on their beautiful duet, “Don’t Mind If I Do.” Snoop lent his cool to Mega Mentor Sting’s coldness on “Another Part of Me,” which heavily leaned on a riff from The Police’s “Message in a Bottle.” Former coach Kelly Clarkson belted her emphatic “You for Christmas.” (Range-y as it was, Mariah needn’t worry.) Tears for Fears gently slayed their ‘80s classic “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” as well as their new track, “The Girl That I Call Home,” while looking older than they could possibly be if we’re still only… Oh, no. [Bleep], we’re old. Last but not least, Season 25 winner Asher HaVon dedicated his single “Thank You” to Coach Reba.
When it came time for the coach/contestant duets, Gwen and Sydney delivered a gorgeous but weirdly smiley version of Cat Stevens’ “Wild World” that was marked by a whole lot of on-stage bobbing. (Like, they never stopped.) Snoop teamed up with Jeremy on “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” in a way that worked so! Much! Better! than we could have imagined it would. Michael and Shye turned the classic “Something Stupid” into something that was… Hmm. Wouldn’t you have thought that these two would have been a match made in heaven on the Sinatra classic? It wasn’t awful, but at best, it was a cheesy match made in purgatory. (At least they seemed to have a blast dueting.)
Reba joined Danny on stage, turning “You Don’t Know Me” into an odd “Yeah, that chocolate does taste good dipped in that peanut butter” moment. (I would’ve predicted Shye and Michael sounding better together, but hey, goes to show once again what little I know.) Finally, Michael and Sofronio brought their bromance to “Who’s Lovin’ You,” with the contestant sounding every bit as polished as his coach. Sofronio was so loose and in the moment, he didn’t just give a great performance, he looked like he had a great time, too.
And in the moment(s) of truth, Carson Daly revealed that viewers had voted into…
Fifth Place
Jeremy Beloate (Team Snoop)
Fourth Place
Danny Joseph (Team Reba)
Third Place
Sydney Sterlace (Team Gwen)
Runner-Up
Shye (Team Bublé)
Winner
Sofronio Vasquez (Team Bublé)
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And that’s all she wrote for Season 26 of The Voice. Grade the finale and the season in the polls below, then let fly your comments, kudos and critiques.
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