‘The Voice’ Live Finals: Ian Flanigan Reps Country With Jamey Johnson Cover [Watch]
It's down to the wire time! The Top 5 contestants on The Voice mustered up the very best they had for America's votes, one day before the Season 19 finale, on Monday (Dec. 14). With every coach's team represented, who will bring home the honor on Tuesday? It's up to viewers!
That said, Monday night had the five hopefuls up on stage trying their pipes at two different approaches: A cover song and an original song. A crowd favorite all through the season has been Team Blake Shelton's Ian Flanigan, an unassuming-looking guy who startled everyone from the beginning by opening his mouth and pouring out one of the most gravelly, world-weary voices the show has ever seen.
Flanigan's choice of cover showed off all the nooks and crannies of Flanigan's unique vocals perfectly: He selected the smoky, mellow "In Color" by Jamey Johnson. Viewers at home were treated to a black-and-white set (get it?) littered by Flanigan's own family photos. The set, at the very end, subtly turned to full color, which should have been cheesy but actually read as rather moving.
The song was one that Shelton himself told Flanigan to "sing as if you wrote it," and he delivered. The performance was quite measured and didn't have any fireworks; it was all full character from the heart, so it will remain to be seen if America will respond to this approach. Shelton noted that he doesn't know where Flanigan lands in a musical timeline. However, "It's iconic," he pronounced.
Flanigan followed this up with his original song of the night, "Never Learn," which kept him in the understated, raspy groove he does best. The song, softly melodic and with touching lyrics, had Shelton getting gooey and wanting to hug Flanigan (which of course, pandemic-style, he could not). It also impressed coach John Legend, who is a dad like Flanigan and related to the heartfelt lyrics, which included such lines as "I could teach you how this cruel world turns, but I hope you never learn."
Which one of the finalists will be crowned The Voice champion in 2020? Tune Tuesday (Dec. 15) on NBC to see who scored the most votes and wins Season 19!
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