Like its fellow singing competition “American Idol,” which ended Sunday night, “The Voice” has moved forward with live performances amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The show’s finale, featuring five finalists, airs Monday and Tuesday.
What to expect
- From their own homes, the show’s five finalists will compete for America’s votes Monday night.
- Each contestant will perform two solos — a cover and an original piece — and take part in a group performance, according to Entertainment Weekly.
- The show’s judges will continue to appear from their homes — Kelly Clarkson from her ranch in Montana; Blake Shelton from his home in Oklahoma; and Nick Jonas and John Legend from their homes in Los Angeles, according to the Deseret News.
- Viewers will vote for their favorite performances Monday night, and the winner will be revealed Tuesday night.
How the top 5 were selected
- The show’s five finalists were revealed last week. Some fans took issue with the new format that only the top-voted contestants from each coach’s team — not the top-voted contestants overall — were pushed through, according to Good Housekeeping.
Who are the 5 finalists?
- Thunderstorm Artis/Team Nick Jonas
All four judges turned for 23-year-old Thunderstorm Artis. For his blind audition — that has more than 6 million views — Artis sang a soulful rendition of The Beatles song “Blackbird.”
Legend, who is more selective when it comes to turning his chair, said Artis had a “magical” tone. Artis ended up joining Legend’s team, and was later stolen by Jonas during the Knockouts.
Artis is from Hawaii and grew up in a large musical family (he’s one of 11 kids). His father, Ron Artis, was a session musician who played keyboards on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” according to Thunderstorm Artis’ website.
When his father passed away suddenly from a heart attack, Artis began singing more as a way to cope with his grief, according to the singer’s “The Voice” bio.
- Micah Iverson/Team Kelly
During Micah Iverson’s audition for “The Voice,” it looked like Clarkson would be his only option. But near the end of his performance of Kodaline’s “All I Want,” both Shelton and Jonas also turned their chairs for a chance to snag the 25-year-old singer.
In the end, Iverson went with Clarkson. He was the only male artist on Clarkson’s team, according to Gold Derby.
Iverson is from Tokyo, Japan, and is one of nine siblings, according to his bio on “The Voice.” After moving to the U.S. and graduating from the University of Virginia, he pursued a career in business finance. He quit his job last year and decided to focus solely on music.
- CammWess/Team John
CammWess auditioned for “The Voice” a day before his 22nd birthday.
Legend was the first judge to turn for the singer. When Legend turned his chair, Clarkson said she knew she wouldn’t have a shot at coaching the young singer from South Carolina because his style was so similar to Legend’s — Clarkson even said CammWess sounded like Legend during some parts of his performance.
Although Shelton joined the fight for CammWess during the blind audition, the singer ended up going with Legend. CammWess had a lot of ups and downs during his time on “The Voice,” getting stolen by Clarkson during the Battle round and then returning to Legend after the Knockouts.
According to his “The Voice” bio, CammWess loved basketball and dreamed of playing in the NBA until an injury in high school shifted his focus toward music. Since then, the singer has put college on hold to focus on music full-time.
- Toneisha Harris/Team Blake
Auditioning for “The Voice” was a long time coming for 44-year-old singer Toneisha Harris. Harris had actually planned to audition for the show in 2012, but around that time, her son was diagnosed with leukemia. Harris put her career on hold to care for her son.
Eight years later — and with her son now in his second year of college — Harris made her big debut on “The Voice.” She performed Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is.” All four judges turned their chairs for a shot at coaching her.
“That was one of the most powerful vocals I’ve ever heard — not just in this competition — that I’ve ever heard,” Jonas said.
“You might’ve taken the time off, but your voice didn’t,” Clarkson added.
Harris ultimately ended up choosing Shelton as her coach — the one judge who was on the show eight years ago when she had initially planned to audition.
Last week, after the top-voted contestant from each team was pushed forward to the finals, Harris competed and was saved to round out the Top 5, according to Gold Derby.
- Todd Tilghman/Team Blake
Todd Tilghman wasn’t much of a performer before “The Voice.”
“I’ve literally never performed,” he told the judges during his audition. “I just sing at church. I’m a pastor at church.”
But Tilghman, a 41-year-old singer from Mississippi, wowed all four judges with his rendition of Bob Seger’s “We’ve Got Tonight.”
Legend said he loved watching Tilghman’s joy during the performance. Clarkson said the singer’s raspy voice reminded her of Chris Stapleton and Kenny Rogers.
All four chairs turned for Tilghman. The singer went with Team Shelton, where he has remained for the entire season.
According to his “The Voice” bio, Tilghman is married to his high school sweetheart and has eight kids.