The final four of The Voice season 11 have been decided. The result is wildly disappointing. In most cases America got it right with their votes for who should move through to the finale night. The top three chosen by America’s votes — Sundance, Billy and We — were predictable and deserving choices. Things got messy with the Instant Save (as always) on the semifinals eliminations.
Ali Caldwell certainly didn’t deserve to go home, and for that matter, neither did Christian Cuevas — especially when thinking about who actually made it through at the end. The bottom line is America just made the wrong choice when choosing Josh Gallagher to move into the finale.
Wrong Choice for the Wrong Reasons
Everything was going to plan on the semifinals elimination, maybe not exactly to my predictions, but at least the eliminations made sense. Brendan and Aaron did have two of the worst performances in the semifinals and they earned their early eliminations by America. Aaron earned it more than Brendan but it wasn’t that shocking that the latter got the boot.
The problem is everything that came after. Where everything went wrong, and the reason that Josh probably made it through to the finale, is the placement of the artists. It shouldn’t be lost on anyone that the rankings of the Instant Save voting directly corresponded with the order of the artists. Christian went first and ended up third, Ali went second and ended up second, Josh went last and ended up getting the save.
It also helps that Josh had the most passionate pleading from his coach. Alicia and Miley were invested but Adam has far more experience pleading with America. In addition, Adam is obviously a more popular coach on The Voice than either newcomer. Josh didn’t do a bad job, with his Instant Save performance or ever on The Voice, he just didn’t do the best job. The finale should be the best of the best and it is not the case now.
Ali- and Christian-Shaped Holes in the Finale
The biggest casualty of all this is it probably makes the finale of season 11 even more boring than intended. The Voice might as well give the crown to Billy Gilman right now because it doesn’t seem like anyone is going to stop him. We McDonald maybe has a bit of a chance but Sundance’s chances drop with the inclusion of Josh in the finale. At best Josh is going be the useless appendage in the finale. At worst he is going to split the country vote and take away some of Sundance’s far superior thunder.
If Ali or even Christian were in the finale it would be a very different story. The finale is now 50% country artists and that will lead to very repetitive song choices. Ali and Christian are both pop artists, though Christian took an ill-fated detour into gospel in the semifinals, but they both don’t sound like anyone else in the finale. Ali would have been the correct choice by America because even when she is not technically perfect or precise with her vocals she always gives a memorable performance. Christian is not as memorable or powerful as Ali but he does give an infectious and joyous performance. Instead we are left with Josh, boring albeit likable Josh.
Maybe the winner of The Voice was always going to be a race between the top three, Billy, We and Sundance. (Though I do think Billy is the odds-on favorite among them.) If Ali were in the finale, though, things would not have been so simple. I’m not sure that Ali could have won season 11, but she would have undoubtedly forced the rest of the top three, especially Billy and We since Sundance always does his own thing, to step up their game. Now the top three shouldn’t (and likely won’t) be threatened by Josh. Josh will just kind of be there, like he has been all season long. Keeping Josh on The Voice is not the worst decision America has ever made with their votes, but it is pretty bad.
But do you agree? Did Josh earn his spot in the finale or did America make a mistake? Did Ali or Christian deserve it more? Who would be your ideal final four?
The Voice season 11 finale will begin Monday, December 12 at 8/7c on NBC. Want more news? Like our Voice Facebook page!
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
Derek is a Philadelphia based writer and unabashed TV and comic book junkie. The time he doesn’t spend over analyzing all things nerdy he is working on his resume to be the liaison to the Justice League.
