On Monday night’s performance finale, finalists Adam Wakefield, Alisan Porter, Laith Al-Saadi, and Hannah Huston squared off for the last time. The contestants were each asked to sing a solo cover, an original song and a duet with their respective coach.
Team Christina member, Alisan Porter once again had a incomparable evening.
Her original song, “Down That Road” was very strong. The song featured particularly poignant lyrics about how going down the wrong path can actually lead to tranquility and while Alisan’s power vocals have been showcased every week on the show, she is truly at her best when she operates in the country/folk space. If The Voice was American Idol, this song could easily serve as Porter’s winning single as it only served to reemphasize her inevitable coronation. The strangest part of this performance to me was Adam Levine telling Porter that she deserved to win, which while true, was odd considering Team Adam member Laith Al-Saadi is still in the running.
I have never seen a stronger kinship between Christina Aguilera and one of her contestants as I see this season with her and Alisan Porter. The pair seemed to connect from the blind auditions and really haven’t looked back. I believe that their strong relationship is what has nurtured Alisan’s absolute dominance this season. For their duet, the pair sang Carole King’s “You’ve Got A Friend,” and couldn’t have chosen a more appropriate song. Instead of Christina flexing her vocal muscle, she effortlessly fused her voice with her student’s and the result was magic.
Finally, Porter’s cover of “Somewhere” from West Side Story was spectacular. The song was the perfect fit for Porter’s Broadway background and the staging complete with pyrotechnics and a choir were certainy the right creative choices. While we are used to seeing Alisan belt out songs with her powerful voice, this song not only allowed her to paint a picture of the type of artist she is going to be, but to also tell a story. The fact that she closed out Monday’s show is a testament to the fact that everyone knows who is going to take this season.
I caught up with Alisan on the red carpet after the show.
Check out the video above!
