“The Voice” is finally nearing the end of the competition in a season that featured two first-time coaches and two unexpected dropouts.
On Tuesday night, the show revealed the top five singers who will be competing for $100,000 and a record deal in the Season 26 finale airing Dec. 9 and 10.
All four of the coaches — Michael Buble, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg and Reba McEntire — still have a shot at victory. But Buble, a first-time coach, has the advantage going into the finale with two singers still on his team.
The finale will feature a strong batch of singers — all five were four-chair turns during the blind audition round. Here’s a breakdown, by team, of who’s in the top five.
Who’s in ‘The Voice’ top 5?
Team Michael
Sofronio Vasquez
Sofronio Vasquez had an instant chair turn from all four coaches with his rendition of Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Goin’ Down.” Stefani called it a “Grammy performance” while McEntire said the singer from the Philippines had “the whole package.”
“I could not hit my button fast enough,” McEntire said, noting that she believed Vasquez could help her get back-to-back wins as a “Voice” coach. “Your soulfulness touched my heart.”
Although Snoop Dogg told Vasquez to “get in where you fit in” and pursue more soul music with him as his coach, Vasquez ultimately connected most with Buble. The “Home” singer got emotional as he talked about his love for the Filipino people and how proud he believed Vasquez would make them.
“I think you’re going to help me win this competition,” he said.
Now, Vasquez has reached the finale and is well on his way to making that prediction come true. Other performances from Vasquez throughout the season have included Roy Orbison’s “Crying”; Chaka Khan’s “Through The Fire”; Celine Dion’s “The Power of Love” and “If I Can Dream.”
Shye
Shye has been a strong contender from the start of the season, since she auditioned with Five for Fighting’s “Superman (It’s Not Easy).” Following that performance, all four coaches threw themselves in the ring for a shot to work with the 17-year-old from Long Island, New York.
“Your voice is like butter,” McEntire said, adding the not-so-subtle reminder that she won this past season of “The Voice” as a coach. “I just loved it.”
“I need to, like, seriously pray for a minute,” Stefani added. “Because I’ve not been this excited so far this season for an artist. ... God gave you that gift.”
Despite the high praise from Stefani, Shye ended up selecting Buble — who complimented her voice and vocal range — to be her coach. She has remained on his team throughout the competition. Other performances from Shye have included Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away,” One Direction’s “Story of My Life”; Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” and Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke.”
Team Gwen
Sydney Sterlace
Sydney Sterlace had all of the coaches’ interest the minute she took “The Voice” stage for the first time. Following her performance of Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license,” all four coaches were shocked to learn the singer from New York was only 15 — and they quickly started to battle over who would get to coach her.
Stefani went first, playing up the fact that she has performed with Rodrigo at Coachella.
“It took me a minute to push my button because it was so unbelievably close to her tone,” Stefani said, adding that as Sterlace’s coach, she would help the teen develop her own style. “That’s why this show is so amazing because it’s like a boot camp. You will learn so much so quickly.”
Buble recalled how he got to work with Tony Bennett, one of his musical heroes, and found himself initially imitating Bennett’s’ style.
“We stand on the shoulders of the people that we love, and then we find ourselves,” he said. “And I love that one of us is going to get to be a part of watching you find yourself.”
Snoop Dogg was arguably the most enthusiastic coach — he was so excited about Sterlace’s performance that he couldn’t even sit still in his chair.
“You captivated me like I was in church,” the rapper said. “You made me move, you made me get up. I haven’t heard anybody that sounds as good as you.”
But in the end, it wasn’t really a hard decision for the teenager.
“I’ve had my heart set on Gwen this whole time,” she said.
Sterlace has remained on Stefani’s team throughout the competition. Other performances have included Taylor Swift’s “betty”; Lewis Capaldi’s “Bruises” and Billie Eilish’s “Birds of a Feather” and “when the party’s over.”
Team Snoop
Jeremy Beloate
For Jeremy Beloate, “The Voice” is about a lot more than trying to make it in the music industry.
Following his performance of Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary” — which led all four “Voice” coaches to fight for a chance to get Beloate on their team — the 25-year-old singer from Memphis told the coaches that he lost his brothers and father to addiction, and that being on the show provides him a glimmer of happiness.
“Every time I get phone calls it’s just like bad news, so when I found out about ‘The Voice’ I was like, I can finally relay good news to my family, so here we go,” he said.
“I’ve written some of my best records in pain and that’s the best time to be expressive and you showed that,” Snoop Dogg said. “We did not know what you were going through when you were singing.”
Buble said that Beloate has “a tremendous gift,” and joked that the singer’s voice was so good that he wanted to lip sync to it at his own concerts.
In the end, Beloate ended up selecting Buble as his coach — but his time with the pop singer ran out during the Knockout round. Snoop Dogg didn’t want to see the singer go home, though, and ended up stealing Beloate for his own team.
Snoop Dogg continued to advocate for Beloate during the next round of the competition, pushing him through to the live semifinals. Now, Beloate has officially reached the finale.
Other performances from Beloate have included Josh Groban’s “The Impossible Dream”; Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are”; and Tom Jones’ “I (Who Have Nothing)”.
Team Reba
Danny Joseph
Danny Joseph has been a strong contender on “The Voice” from the start of the season, with all four coaches fighting over him following his rendition of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put A Spell On You” during the blind audition round.
Michael Buble used his block button to prevent Snoop Dogg from snagging Joseph for his team, and Gwen Stefani called the 37-year-old singer “one of the strongest, most secure singers” she’s heard this season.
But in the end, the singer from London who now lives in Dallas opted to go with McEntire. The country star was quick to remind Joseph that she is the defending champion on the show.
“You’ve got an amazing range, and a very powerful voice,” McEntire said. “I’m very competitive and I work real hard and I’ll help you any way I can.”
To secure his spot in the semifinals, Joseph performed Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” During the semifinal round, Joseph was saved by the instant vote to earn a spot in the finale. Other performances throughout the competition have included Susan Tedeschi’s “It Hurt So Bad” and James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World”; and “House of the Rising Sun.”
Who was eliminated after ‘The Voice’ top 8?
The following three singers were eliminated during the top eight round:
- Jan Dan, from Team Gwen.
- Adam Bohanan, from Team Reba.
- Christina Eagle, from Team Snoop.
How to watch ‘The Voice’ Season 26 finale
Part one of the Season 26 finale — featuring performances from the top five — will air Dec. 9 at 7 p.m. MST.
During the episode, the top five will perform a ballad and an up-tempo song. The episode will also feature the top five performing Sting-themed duets. Sting was a mentor for the “Voice” contestants earlier in the season.
The show will then crown its newest winner, based on viewers’ overnight votes, at the end of the two-hour season finale on Dec. 10, which begins at 8 p.m. MST.
The episode will feature the season’s top eight reuniting for a “Wicked”-themed performance, according to a TV listing.