‘The Voice’: Watch Tessanne Chin Sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water” Flawlessly

Caila Ball-Dionne | December 10, 2013 5:20 am

One minute they’re Blind-Auditioning voiceover actors and sitcom stars’ sisters, and the next they’re on to the semi-finals. They grow up so fast on The Voice! Though Cee Lo stands sans contestants, proud parents…er…coaches Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton are going to any length to win. Help their contestants win? Nah. They’re basically at the point where Season 6 should be called The Coach.

The final five — Jacquie Lee, Cole Vosbury James Wolpert, Will Champlin and Tessanne Chin — kick off the show with American Authors‘ “Best Day Of My Life.” The camera catches the unimpressed face of Christina Aguilera that basically sums up the solidly mediocre performance, but the contestants have plenty of time to turn that frown into a semi-satisfied pout before the show is over.

Team Blake: Cole Vosbury

Blake brings in the big guns for his final contestant Cole Vosbury: Cee Lo and Garth Brooks. Cee Lo is on hand to pledge allegiance to his former contestant, and Cole sings the Garth Brooks’ rendition of “Shameless” (written by Billy Joel) to reign in the country votes. Cole brings in elements of both Joel and Brooks, and he performs from the piano with a bit more rock grit than country twang. As usual, Cole delivers a performance that has the judges raving.

“Incredible job,” says Blake. “I think you just now figured out who you are.”

“Another great job, Cole,” says Cee Lo. “Every song that’s been picked for you to perform, you perform it like it’s your own.”

Team Christina: Jacquie Lee

And then there was one for Christina Aguilera. After weeks of holding on to both Matthew Schuler and Jacquie Lee, Team Christina has all of her eggs in one basket going into the semi-finals: mini-X, Jacquie Lee, who sings Sarah McLachlan‘s “Angel,” because she is Christina’s “little angel.” The whole mentor/mentee love fest is a bit much, but Jacquie does sound angelic (the halo lighting doesn’t hurt). An octave change brings the performance to powerhouse gospel levels by the end.

“You did things I didn’t even know you were going to do tonight,” Christina says. “You blew me away.” But like, don’t ever do anything without running it by me again, girl.

“That was amazing,” says Cee Lo. “That was probably the most perfect and wonderful.”

Team Adam: James Wolpert

After being saved by America last week, James Wolpert is back, fully recovered from his ill-timed illness. Searching for a big rebound moment, he sings U2‘s “With Or Without You.” There’s nothing terribly exciting about James’s take on the song, but he makes no mistakes and earns a huge applause from the audience.

Adam, who manages to make a lady sweater sexy, says, “James, that was even beyond what I thought you could do.”

“I suggested that for a coach performance,” says Christina, who is clearly still miffed that no one took her suggestion. “It would have been fun.”

“Being the save last week, you needed a moment like that,” says Blake. “You might have dug yourself out of the hole.”

Team Adam: Will Champlin

Will Champlin has certainly come a long way, from his saves in the Battle and Knockout Rounds to being a top contender in the Top 5. From his reduced tempo beginning through the high energy finish of fun.‘s “Carry On,” Will makes the song his own, adding soaring ad libs and ending with a smile. It’s the perfect song at the perfect time for the once-underdog, with just the right combo of rock edge and emotional connection.

“I know if Will is smiling, he definitely did well because he’s so hard on himself.” says Adam.

“It is really cool to see you getting all swaggy up there,” says Cee Lo. “Swaggy good.”

“We all enjoyed that because we saw that you were, for once,” says Blake.

Team Adam: Tessanne Chin

After giving each of her teammates sincere compliments at a totally non-staged team breakfast at Adam’s house, Tessanne Chin closes out the night with Simon and Garfunkel‘s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The emotionally-driven performance is both a highlight of the night, and of Tessanne’s tenure on The Voice.

“I’ve never been speechless on the show before,” says Adam. “Regardless of popular opinion, I think that that’s probably the most flawless and graceful performance I’ve heard on the show.”

“It’s hard as an opposing team member to argue with anything that Adam just said,” says Blake, adding, “I’m such a big fan of yours.”

Two more head home on Tuesday night before next week’s finals. With three team mates left, Adam Levine is the only coach with a guaranteed team member in the finals, and could potentially (though not likely) be the only coach with all three contestants in the finals for the first time in Voice history.

Speaking of moments sure to go down in history, Christina Aguilera will perform Tuesday for the zillionth(ish) time this season, and Season 4 champ Danielle Bradbery makes her first return to The Voice stage since her Season 4 victory. Season 3 champ Cassadee Pope will also stop by to perform, along with Season 3 runners-up Michelle Chamuel and the Swon Brothers!

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