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RE: The Voice Finale
After a kind of boring performance night, the actual Finale was very good.
Emily showed a side to her that was special, during her duet. It's amazing when such young people know who they are musically - even if it is left of center - at such a young age. Similar to Mia Z. and Sawyer, she's someone to watch. (And probably an inductee into my "Children of The Voice" thread.)
I was also so happy to see Usher back. It's funny, you watch these shows with your favorite artists and hope they don't make you dislike them. (Looking at Mariah Carey.) In some cases, you like them a little better. (Steven Tyler)..in Usher's case, I have become a significantly bigger fan. The man is pure talent. One of the few that does sing and dance live, doing both exceptionally well.
But the guy just gets it. The way he treated Michelle Chamuel, was just..beyond incredible. From spending significant extra time with her during performances, to taking the time to get to know her to make sure she was comfortable with every point in their voice process, to making sure she got to sing songs she really wanted to sing (and the care he took in choosing the songs that he wanted her to sing..) To bringing Taylor Swift to her rehearsal. To making sure he marketed her in a way that she wanted to be seen. And I could go on. And then to read that contestants of other coaches were Jealous of Usher's contestants. And then Joshua Davis called having Usher as a guest mentor one of the highlights of his Voice journey..
And then we had last night. Where, instead of promoting himself (like any artist given that spot would do), Usher made sure Jordan Smith shined on their duet. He gave Jordan the big note. He let Jordan play with the melody (while he remained to it..). He let Jordan have the high notes in the the harmony. The whole performance was about Jordan, even expressing admiration for Jordan's abilities several times. That's getting what the finale is about. (Jessie J. competed with Chris Jamison a bit, a few seasons ago..but she also seemed to get that the performance was about Chris..) Once again, it just increased my love and respect for one of the most talented and classy artists from my generation of musicians.
Tori Kelly and Jeffery were also very good, but Jeffery's voice is shot, and needs some vocal rest, and singing with Tori is no small order.
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