Apple cider vinegar Is Pilates for you? 'Ambient gaslighting' 'Main character energy'
TV
Gwen Stefani

NBC's 'Voice' crowns Season 7 winner

Bill Keveney
USA TODAY
'Voice' coaches and host include Adam Levine, left, host Carson Daly, Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton and Pharrell.

Spoiler alert: This story contains significant details from Tuesday's Voice finale, including the name of the Season 7 winner.

Season 7 of The Voice has a winner and ... it's a guy!

OK, that's no surprise. Four guys went into Monday's performance finale, three from coach Adam Levine's team (Chris Jamison, Matt McAndrew and wild-card qualifier Damien) and one from Blake Shelton's team (Craig Wayne Boyd). A win by one of Adam's guys would give the coach three Voice wins, putting him in a tie with Blake.

For the first time on the NBC singing competition, the four finalists each performed an original song put together by the coaches and professional songwriters.

Would the seventh-season winner be Chris, who grew up in Pittsburgh and delivers mail at his Ohio college? How about New Jersey guy Matt, who studied music on a scholarship but has been working two jobs while hoping for his big break? Or Craig, who moved to Nashville at 25 to pursue a country career and has played more than 1,000 shows in the past decade? Or, finally, wild-card Damien from Louisiana, who has been working for the TSA in Los Angeles while trying to pursue a music career?

Here's how the two-hour finale played out.

• The show itself opened with a performance of Pompeii by Season 7's top 20, bringing back numerous fan favorites. It started with the guys, not surprisingly considering the four finalists, but then the womenjoined in.

• After host Carson Daly chatted briefly with coaches Adam, Blake, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell, the show, as all singing finales do, went into variety-show mode. Finalist Craig was joined by three other finalists – DaNica, Sugar and Taylor Brashears – for a performance of Georgia Satellites' Keep Your Hands to Yourself.

The Voice moved into celebrity gear, with Irish musician Hozier performing Take Me to Church.

• The finale shifted back to finalist performances, with Chris joined by Luke Wade, Taylor Phelan, Ryan Sill and Ricky Manning for Dedication to My Ex.

The Voice presented another finale staple: the finalist-star combo performance. Matt sang Centuries with Fall Out Boy.

• Pharrell was turned into a hologram of sorts for a humorous piece comparing him to Star Wars' Yoda. "Pharrell is like Yoda, a floating seer of positivity," Adam said. He compared himself to Han Solo and Blake to Chewbacca. A group of the top women then performed.

• Bruno Mars sported curlers in his hair for a performance of Uptown Funk with Mark Ronson. He had pink curlers in the song's video. These looked golden.

• In a taped piece, the four finalists gave – performing at a Christmas concert – and then received, getting the keys to new Nissans. Nothing says singing-competition finale like new car smell.

• Craig got the chance to sing Sweet Home Alabama with Lynyrd Skynyrd. That song goes across generations.

• Broadcast TV audience numbers must be catnip for star performers. Meghan Trainor sang Lips Are Movin' at the finale, just a couple of weeks after appearing at the Dancing with the Stars season-ender. Jennifer Hudson, who also performed at Dancing, was scheduled to sing, too.

• And there she was. Oscar winner and former Idol finalist Hudson joined with finalist Damien for a performance of her Grammy-nominated It's Your World.

• After a Gwen Stefani comedy highlight reel, Ed Sheeran sang Thinking Out Loud.

• More trips down musical memory lane: Voice singers performed Fleetwood Mac's Go Your Own Way and then finalist Damien and fellow singers give Ain't No Mountain High Enough a whirl.

• An hour and 45 minutes into the two-hour finale, Chris Jamison got a chance to sing Masterpiece with Jessie J. Then, viewers were treated to the Blake highlight reel to the tune of U Can't Touch This.

• With less than 15 minutes left in the show, the coaches get into the spirit of the season with Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.

• Finally, with five minutes left, eliminations started. Damien finished fourth. Third place went to Chris Jamison.

The Voice Season 7 winner is Craig Wayne Boyd, with Matt McAndrew finishing second. Team Blake triumphs again.

Craig Wayne Boyd performs on NBC's 'The Voice.'
Featured Weekly Ad