‘The Voice’: Watch Adam Wakefield Premiere Original Song “Lonesome, Broken And Blue”

Caila Ball-Dionne | May 24, 2016 8:19 am

And then there were four.

From the 48 contestants that earned a chair turn during The Voice Blind Auditions, only Laith Al-Saadi, Alisan Porter, Adam Wakefield and Hannah Huston remain. Of the four coaches that began the season, though, all four are still in the running. It’s a rarity, but Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams each have one contestant in this finalist mix and thus have to keep working right up to the end of their season contracts.

The finalists had busy nights, and each performed three times: A cover, a duet with their coach and an original song. Actual original songs! With the exception of Hannah, who made the good call to collaborate with her producer coach, Pharrell, each contestant penned their own song — no Ryan Tedder assistance or anything!

It was their last shot at The Voice trophy and everlasting short-lived fame. Here’s how they did:

Team Adam: Laith Al-Saadi

Duet: Adam gets to live his best life during his solo with Laith, as he plays the drums and guitar during the medley of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End,” all by The Beatles. Both Adam and Laith really seem to be enjoying themselves in the energetic performance.

Original: A songwriter at heart, Laith had his original song, “Morning Light,”  in his back pocket for just this occasion. It’s slightly mellower than his typical classic rock covers, and as usual he really stands out in the instrumental department.

“Once again, killed it on the guitar,” says Christina, carefully keeping her compliments away from his voice. “I love the bluesy sort of slow jam bit of it.” She adds.

“You’ve still slowly over time and leading up to this moment become my favorite,” says Adam. “You just filled the room with joy.”

Cover: He made it this far with classic rock and blues, so Laith stayed the course with a cover of Cream’s “White Room.” He’s a little shakier in his lower register than usual, but all in all the guitar-heavy performance is impressive. If this competition were called The Guitar, he would certainly win.

“That performance was packed with solos everywhere,” says Pharrell. “Who doesn’t want to play air guitar after this guy plays?”

“All I’m doing is enjoying my guy up there doing what he does with such purity of spirit and heart,” says Adam.

Team Blake: Adam Wakefield

Duet: Blake Shelton goes out on a limb to perform an R&B song for his contestant duet. Just kidding! Of course they choose a country classic, and sing “The Conversation” by Hank Williams Jr. and Waylon Jennings. It’s nothing mind blowing, but you can hardly fault Adam for that.

Original: Presumably writing his song about how three out of the four finalists will feel when the final result is called, Adam’s original song is called “Lonesome, Broken And Blue.” Like Laith, he had been kicking this song around for a while, and relishes in the opportunity to perform it for millions. The performance sounds straight out of the CMAs, which, of course, makes Blake prouder than ever.

“It felt good. I like all the different sides to you,” says Pharrell. “I love the fact that you have so many different pallets that you pour from.”

“That is brilliant,” says Blake. “That reminded me so much of something Keith Whitley would have recorded.”

Cover: Adam’s final cover (for votes, anyway) is Vince Gill’s “When I Call Your Name.” It’s fine, but nothing mesmerizing enough to knock the frontrunner (cough Alisan cough) off of her path to glory.

“I have enjoyed every single one of your performances,” says Christina. “Your ad libs and your runs are always so impressive to me. They’re so accurate.”

“People across this country know what you just did with an iconic Vince Gill song,” says Blake. “You just blew the roof off of this place.”

Team Pharrell: Hannah Huston

Duet: There have been some decent coach duets over the years, and, oh, how much better it would have been to re-run one of those as opposed to Hannah and Pharrell’s awkward pairing. The two perform Pharrell and Justin Timberlake’s “Brand New.” In its best moments, it’s barely tolerable, and in its worst moments (read: most moments), it’s hard to hear their voices clash off of one another. At least they didn’t perform “Blurred Lines”?

Original: What he lacks in live vocal skills, he more than makes up for in producing. Hannah reaps the benefits of having a Grammy-winning producer as her coach when she performs “I Call the Shots,” a song the two co-penned (though it definitely reads more Pharrell’s influence than Hannah’s). It’s the pop standout against the other original songs, and different is good at this point in the competition.

“It was amazing to see you take this song and turn it into one of the coolest things I think we’ve seen on the show,” says Adam.

“The most important thing was for you to realize that it was okay for you to be talented,” says Pharrell. “That totally came from you and I’m honored to be part of the process.”

Cover: Here’s where Hannah Huston could pull the upset. Her re-imagination of The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” into a dark, jazzy number (orchestrated largely by Pharrell and Paul Morkovich) is exactly the sort of performance that demands downloads. Sure, it’s a little Grey’s Anatomy soundtrack, but those Shondaland songs sell!

“That was so risky, but I think it’s going to be a huge reward for you,” says Blake, adding, “That was so beautiful.”

“You love to sing with struggle in your tone,” says Pharrell. “You came out here with grace and humility, and you lit the stage up.”

Visit SiteTeam Christina: Alisan Porter

Duet: What is the lady version of a bromance? A Womance? Whatever it is, after watching coaches Adam and Blake’s boys club, Christina finally has her own gal pal situation with Alisan Porter. The two showcase their powerful vocals singing James Taylor’s “You’ve Got A Friend,” and it’s a total BFUF* moment (*Best Friends Until Finale).

Original: Alisan touches on her struggles with addiction in her original song, “Down That Road.” It’s really lovely, and has a country vibe to it that works tremendously for her voice and storytelling ability.

“It’s really cool to see you connect with a song that you wrote in the same way that you’ve connected with all the covers that you’ve done to this point.” Blake

“You are the epitome of The Voice,” says Christina. “You just come from such an honest and real place, and you deserve to win because you’ve been down all the roads.”

Cover: Presumptive winner Alisan Porter closes out the night with “Somewhere” from West Side Story. It’s the final exclamation point on a pretty flawless season, has the coaches gushing, and has Christina in tears (maybe even real ones!).

“Everybody knows how great you are,” says Adam. “Other than just pontificating, I will just say congratulations.”

“If anybody deserves to take the cake and be the winner of The Voice it’s you,” says a tearful Christina. “You’re the definition of The Voice.”

Is Alisan going to live up to the hype and bring that trophy home, thus finally giving the W to a female (coach)? Or will the hype be her downfall? We’ll find out during tonight’s finale, after performances by Sia, Zayn, Little Big Town, Ariana Grande and Blake Shelton!

Call it now – who’s going to win Season 10?