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The contestants have sung, the people have spoken, and as of 11 pm Tuesday, The Voice has a new reigning champ. But before we found out whether it was Team John Legend’s Lila Forde, Team Reba McEntire’s Ruby Leigh or Team Niall Horan’s Mara Justine or Huntley — Gwen Stefani was shut out — we were treated to a full-on concert.
Among the highlights was an extremely pink cover of Dua Lipa’s “Dance the Night” by the Top 12 — which meant that, yes, we were treated to the bizarre sight of everyone from Jordan Rainer to BIAS getting their boogie on. The coaches’ rendition of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” was lovely and as traditional as mistletoe. Before taking their red swivel chairs in Season 25, Dan + Shay performed their single “Bigger Houses” with all the warmth of a roaring fireplace. American Idol judge Keith Urban turned out a pretty damn spectacular version of his hit “Blue Ain’t Your Color” with only his guitar as accompaniment.
As the show went on, Teddy Swims sang his “Lose Control” smash with so much fire, I liked it almost as much as Mara’s stab at it earlier in the season. Almost. Indie rockers AJR, who I’ll admit I’d never heard of, made me a fan with their quirky “Yes I’m a Mess” and “Bang!” (Although is a band still “indie” if it’s appearing on a big network sing-off?) Tyla served up silky vocals and even smoother moves on “Truth or Dare” and “Water.” And Earth, Wind & Fire teed up a medley of their hits with a helluva lot more energy than I expect to have at their age. (Or, frankly, do now!)
As for the coach/contestant duets, Niall and Huntley’s pairing on Bob Dylan/Guns N’ Roses “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” was surprisingly successful (and arguably a more impressive showcase for the rocker than Monday’s efforts). Reba and Jacquie’s take on Wynonna Judd’s “No One Else on Earth” was fine, even if their harmonies didn’t quite gel. On the Eagles’ “Wasted Time,” Niall and Mara meshed so beautifully, it made me wish that their duet was being released.
John and Lila made “Sleigh Ride” a ride worth taking in spite of the fact that, again, it didn’t really play to her strengths. And on Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” Reba and Ruby could’ve charmed the pointy shoes off an elf. (But didn’t it sound like their vocals were coming from a block away?) Finally, in the moment of truth, Carson Daly announced that the audience had voted into…
Fifth Place
Lila Forde (Team Legend)
Fourth Place
Jacquie Roar (Team Reba)
Third Place
Mara Justine (Team Niall) — what?!?
Second Place
Ruby Leigh (Team Reba)
Winner
Huntley (Team Niall)
So, are you happy with the way things shook out? Surprised? Drop your reaction in the comments below, then read what Huntley has to say about his coach, that duet and his amazing hair here.
Yessss! Team Niall slay, as always. But does anyone else have the feeling that Mara actually came in second and they just didn’t want the top tao being from the same team? No shade to Ruby, because she’s great, much better singer than I’ll ever be and all that, but I really do get that feeling…
I remember a few seasons ago, Blake had two of the top three. The third place winner was not named, and Carson went straight to the winner. Huntley was my second choice, and I am really happy for him. Just bummed about Mara. Being able to cast only one vote for only one contestant probably hurt her since she and Huntley have similar styles and were on the same team. Ruby had no competition for the county vote. Overall, it was a great season
Enough of these conspiracy theories! The idea that procures would take a chance of destroying their shows and their careers by manipulating the vote is absolutely ridiculous.
And, in the big picture, does it really matter who was second and who was third?
We’ll never know, though. They don’t disclose the numbers. So anything is possible.
Also, do we really think he’s going to break out? The Voice has a really small percentage of singers for the show, let alone the winners, breaking out.
I believe Melanie Martinez is the most commercially successful.
There’s no way anyone would ever know, unless the coaches themselves were to find out and flip out. So your point doesn’t make sense. But it is interesting that they changed to everyone have 1 single vote the last 2 years, and before that you could vote a ton for as many as you wanted. I do think that has changed things.
More likely that Niall’s fan base is girls & women, so more went with Huntley, which hurt Mara.
His fanbase loved Mara. They loved all the girls on his team. It’s very unlikely.
They got one vote. Push come to shove, more of them went with the Eddie Vedder knockoff.
It wasn’t because they disliked the women on this team.
It was because they wanted to vote the coach and knew Huntley had more general audience likability.
Wasn’t a fan of the fandom doing that but what they did.
They loved Mara and Nini.
Nini seemed to be the major preference and her not making the finals had them deciding to try not to split votes.
Yeah, because Niall Horan fans know who Eddie Vedder is LMAO
I figured Huntley would win. I like him, but I do think Mara deserved to win. I can’t believe she was in third place!
Excellent show, judges and contestants were fantastic. My only complaint is that the recaps were redundant.
That’s wild that you’ve never heard of AJR before. I guarantee you that you’ve heard a couple of their songs before and probably just didn’t know it was them.
Weak and Sober Up are some of their hits
Those might be some of their “hits”, but those aren’t huge songs. I guarantee you, a lot of folks have never heard of them before.
I think the person’s point is that they are played on the radio all the time. Of course it depends on which stations you listen to, but even just from scrolling, it’s possible to have heard them. My own reaction to watching was, “Oh those guys? That song…from the radio, that I’ve heard.”
Blake might be gone, but the country vote is still strong enough to give those singers an extra boost — which is why Ruby came in second over Mara and, frankly, Jacquie came in fourth over Lila.
Subjective… As always. I happened to like Jacquie better than.. But if we’ve learned anything at all, there is a whole lotta musical voices and styles out there. Something for everybody.. I’m just glad we are given the gift ❤️❤️❤️
Nope. It was obvious on here yesterday that Lila was going to come in fifth place.
Her two songs on Monday’s shows weren’t well received. Her coming in fifth was not surprising AT ALL. The only surprise is that Ruby came in second, but we shouldn’t be surprised. Country fans vote no matter what.
Jacque Roar should have WON
America really suck for sending home Mac Royals!!!!
I agree. I was looking forward to him being in the finale, and bringing something special. Something different (if you know what I mean). He might have choses the wrong song when he did that Brian McNight number, but overall no one was perfect ever single time. I still believe that it has a lot to do with the fact that he does mostly R&B. But so what. Anyway….he should have been there. :)
Regardless, he was my favorite this year (by far)!
STILL HAPPY FOR HUNTLY!
Him and Nini.
So happy for Huntley!!!
I enjoyed the Voice, I thought Ruby should have been first. I am not going pleased with the way the fans put Gwen down, I think she is a very good judge. They were all very good.
The Team Niall Duets should both released for real. Those were amazing.
I really thought Mara might have pulled it off and was expecting her to be at least 2nd. Very happy for Huntley’s win though, think it’s very deserved.
Huntley is talented, but my favorite was Mara she’s so good
Niall is a brilliant singer. Such beautiful harmonies.
Thank goodness Huntley won. I was getting a bit nervous when Ruby was one of the last two standing. I would have put her in 5th place, Lila in 4th, Jacquie in 3rd, Mara, 2nd and Huntley as the winner. I loved both of Niall’s duets with his team. The other collaborations were nice but not as good as Niall’s.
That’s a pretty good rating…. I have loved Jacquie from day one. Ruby is extremely talented if you like that sound… Mara is amazing and Huntley is a beast! 2 different sounds.. As always, personal taste.
I agree with this rating. But because I did not vote I can’t complain with the results. Glad Huntley won!
I was sad that Jacquie didn’t finish higher. I hope someone will record her, she is amazing.
Yeah, she deserved to be higher.
John should have brought back Alexa Windish. She would’ve gone further than Lila
He couldn’t have brought her back because she wasn’t eliminated from the competition and Niall’s team until the playoffs, after the Super Save. Although, I would have loved to see how she would have done in the live rounds.
I love Niall’s harmonies!!! Imo he harmonizes better than any of the judges, I mean, he did tour and record with 1D for nearly five years straight, so him being good at harmonizing should be no surprise. I may be a bit biased (I only watch this show bc I’m practically in love with Niall) but still. I would have preferred a Mara win, but I knew it would be Huntley after all the Niall update accounts told his fans to vote for Huntley.
Had to be Niall; his 2 were best, imo. Huntley won; not a surprise. I made case for teammate Mara instead, last night; those were Top 2 of late.
= Probably Huntley was more consistent over entire season, whereas Mara surged 2nd half.
= Being same team meant favoring one to win. As only male, he had clearer path. I still prefer her. Sigh!
= Ruby–great season; plateaued late. But enough good will & Reba clout to nudge past Mara. Oh well.
= Lila & Jacquie had good runs. I wish them well.
= Great season overall.
Too much at finale. Should be spotlight on contestants and coaches not all the outsiders. Should be a larger prize like maybe $200000 and $50000 for second place. Other shows pay more.
Once Mara was announced as third, I panicked. All I could think about were the huge number of country voters and Ruby being 16, the young voters not to mention Reba followers! I was so sure she had it. Delighted for Huntley. I hope he always stays “humble and kind”. But I so wanted Mara to win. Have a feeling Niall will have both of them on stage at some of his concerts.
Being that I grew up an hours drive from his home place in Ireland (different decades 🙈🤣), just want to say “You’ll never beat the Irish” 💚🇮🇪☘️
Great season. Now please producers, no more recap shows.
Shout out to Keith Urban, that was special …
There were so many amazing singers on this season 24. The 5 finalists deserved to be there. I thought from the beginning to the end of the season that Mara Justine was above them all, and it was an actual shock for me when Carson said that Mara received the third most votes. She always sang in her own voice, and always, to quote Reba’s comment about her Joplin cover, “hit it out of the ball park”. I thought “America” was getting it right with their votes about the best VOICE on this show this year, until tonight. That was a shock!
Mara Justine was robbed. Yet now after contract with the Voice she’ll be on her way to a very successful career making a difference. She was the best on the Voice that kept on growing exponentially. Blessings to her talent and wish to see her again performing soon. 🎶🙏💕
She’s already made her rounds on the rest of the singing comps, America’s Got Talent and American Idol. Hopefully she can get on with her career already now.
VERY true!
I think voters “in the know” recognized her as a ‘serial’ competitor!
Sorry, Huntley is an unoriginal Vedder knockoff who chews every word in an annoying superficial way that makes me hit the mute button. Dunno, maybe there’s a market for that. Nice guy, but no.
Mara’s strength is actually her ballads, not her jump around stuff. Stand still, let that fantastic voice do the talking, and, given good material, she could make a path for herself.
Hope you’re right. She should’ve won.
I liked her a lot too, but they didn’t give her the right songs for the lives. She should have done Adele instead of Janis (very few people can do her songs convincingly, and for me, Mara didn’t, and I think it cost her).
This was the best season ever, really enjoyed it! All of the contestants were amazing. Also loved the cast too
Mara should have won💯 Horrible!!
Surprised that Mara didn’t win, but Huntley was my second choice, so no surprise there. He is truly unique. Shocked that Ruby came in so high in the votes. She has promise as she matures, but she needs to learn the difference between singing musically and shouting. Louder is not always better, and she seems very limited in her musical knowledge. Even Reba was careful in the way she worded her encouragement….
Hilarious that you think Ruby was loud on her songs but that Mara was not.