If America is looking for a little fun and funk right now, then Nicholas David (Mrozinski) is looking good to win Tuesday night's finale of "The Voice." But if viewers of the hit NBC singing competition want something more dramatic and Hallmark cardy, then Cassadee Pope probably has it locked up.
Nick got to sing three tunes in Monday's live telecast, and two of them eschewed his soulful balladeering talent to show off a harder-grooving side. He got to go first among the three remaining contestants, kicking off the live performance with a rocking mash-up of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Great Balls of Fire" and Jimi Hendrix's "Fire" that ended with Nick high-kicking the air like a hairy, singing Karate Kid. As he has for most of the season, Blake Shelton slipped in a playful line about Nick afterward, saying, "Whatever happens, I'm pretty sure the Rockettes will be calling." Adam Levine said he was happy Nick showed off a different side, while his own coach Cee-Lo Green gushed, "Your fire burned this house down."
Mrozinski went back and revisited Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" in the middle of the show, singing it with the same gospel bend he offered a month back (each of the singers revived the one tune considered their "breaking moment" from earlier in the season). For his big finish, he delivered a cleverly chosen duet of Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)" with Cee-Lo, which included a dancing miniature version of the rotund little coach (each singer also delivered a duet with their coaches Monday). Click here for a video of that wild one.
Nick's performances were truly entertaining and memorable, but his fans had better hope the rest of the audience remembers how deep and tender he was in past weeks. Monday's episode opened with what might be the deepest and most tender moment of any TV music competition ever: The four coaches sang a verse of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" while the entire cast held up the names of the victims of the Connecticut school shooting.
Cassadee seemed to carry over that vibe -- and could very well carry it to No. 1 -- with two of her performances, including a version of Shelton's own personal healing anthem, "Over You" (sung by his wife Miranda Lambert), which was her revival from a past show. She then got to end the show with an elaborately produced, flower-adorned treatment of Faith Hill's "Cry." She's going to be a tough one for Nick to beat.
Third contestant Terry McDermott, on the other hand, pretty much seems to be a non-factor. He and Shelton delivered "Dude Looks Like a Lady" as a duet, a hokey song that even most Aerosmith fans don't like. Even worse was his off-key, whiny take on Mister Mister's equally questionable hit "Broken Wings."
See who flies away with the top prize in Tuesday's episode (7-9 p.m.).
