‘The Voice’ recap: Usher picks his best three, rewards talent

In the final night of the playoffs on “The Voice,” the five members of Team Usher took the stage to perform songs they’d chosen themselves in hopes of being among the three singers selected by their coach to compete in the live shows.

T.J. Wilkins, the music student out of South-Central Los Angeles, sought to show off his “soulful essence,” as Usher put it, on Rufus and Chaka Kahn’s “Tell Me Something Good,” which was written by Stevie Wonder, one of Wilkins’ heroes. Usher had instructed Wilkins to sound like “horns.” Not sure about that, but he did sound good.

“The audience loved you,” Shakira told Wilkins, calling his performance “soulful” and “committed” and commending him on a high note that was “the ace under your sleeve.” Adam Levine admired the song choice and the way Wilkins sought to entertain. Getting the audience on his side was the key to making it to the end of the competition, Levine said, advising Wilkins to “keep that” as his “target.” Blake Shelton said he finally understood why Usher had kept Wilkins over another talented contestant earlier in the competition. And Usher said Wilkins had proudly represented “a genre that I respect and love,” reminded him of a “beautiful, careless, free” time in music and “completely killed it.”

Melissa Jimenez, who, it turns out, had once been pulled onstage by Usher at a concert and had auditioned for “The Voice” hoping to meet him again, elected to sing a stripped-down version of Beyonce’s “Halo,” which, she noted, would leave nowhere to hide vocally. She had some gorgeous moments, as well as a few shaky ones.

Shakira called the move to strip the song down “very courageous” and pretty much left it at that. Levine said there was “no way to excel on this show if you don’t take risks,” but noted the mix of beautiful moments and trouble spots. Shelton said he was “not as familiar” with the song and from that perspective thought Jimenez’s performance was “solid.” Sure, there was one part where the singer had not taken a big enough breath to nail a big note, but overall, he thought it was “pretty dang good.” Usher called it a “live or die moment” and credited Jimenez with putting in the effort to have made it so far.

FACES TO WATCH 2014: Pop & jazz music

Stevie Jo, the long-haired son of members of a heavy metal band, whom Levine called a “major contender,” tackled B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone,” saying the blues song showed the artist he hoped to become. Fully committed, it was also a somewhat peculiar performance.

Shelton said he loved watching Stevie Jo perform because “it’s like he’s sneaking up on a rabbit the whole time,” but he added that he’d “nailed the singing part.” Levine thought he’d done “a great job” and had emoted well. “When you’re singing the blues, technical analysis really goes out the window,” he said. Shakira said Stevie Jo had gotten her “from the first 20 seconds” and that she’d enjoyed his falsetto and rasp though felt he may have stretched out a few notes too long. “Every time you get onstage you show us something new,” she said. Usher said the song was “all about heartache and pain” and that Stevie Jo had done it “great justice by connecting to it in a way that’s relevant” to him. Later, Levine said he’d “absolutely” move forward with Stevie Jo, if he were Usher, calling him an “untapped resource.”

Eighteen-year-old Bria Kelly, whom Shelton called “the reason Usher’s team is a threat,” aimed to make Usher and her hometown, Smithfield, Va., proud with her rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses,” on which she played the guitar her dad had bought her. Her nuanced, passionate rendition of the song surely proved pride-worthy.

Levine said he’d “always lamented” not having Kelly on his team and that, though she’d not done her best during the last battle round, she was definitely back. Shakira called herself a “huge fan” and wondered how Kelly had managed to reach her high notes and sing “so raspy” and “sultry.” Shelton noted that he had stolen everyone Kelly had battled against, probably because she made “people step up.” He said that even though everyone had always celebrated her bigger notes, the softer notes were as “golden” as Usher’s shoes. Usher applauded Kelly for the way she brought us all back to the place we were when we first heard the classic Stones song but also found a way “to shine in it and make it your own.”

Josh Kaufman, the “Indianapolis family man” whom Usher stole from Team Adam during the second battle round, elected to sing “It Will Rain” by Bruno Mars, dedicating it to his wife, who has “been so supportive” of him. As the new guy on the team, Kaufman aimed to show Usher what he was about. His soulful, gospel-infused rendition of the song was, in fact, a showstopper.

“Hold on. Let me just remove the dagger from my heart,” Levine said, adding magnanimously that he hoped Kaufman would make it all the way “to the top.” Shelton said Kaufman was a favorite of his wife, Miranda Lambert, and was “one of the best singers on ‘The Voice’ this year.” Shakira too declared herself to be a huge fan, calling him an “unbelievable” singer and his performance “effortless.” Usher said Kaufman had done an “incredible job,” which he said was the “product of a collaborative effort” between himself, Kaufman and Levine. “Thank you, Adam, for giving me an incredible talent,” he said, later calling Kaufman an “incredible steal.”

But would Usher include the recent team addition among his final three? Yes -- yes, he would. The three singers he chose to take through to the live rounds were Kelly, Kaufman and Wilkins -- just the trio you may have predicted.

“I have a great team. I believe in their talent. I believe in their ability,” he said. “Team Usher represents the soul of ‘The Voice’ this year.” Then he threw out a challenge to his fellow coaches, or perhaps to the singers themselves: “Moving into these next rounds,” he said, “you better come with it.”

Do you think Usher picked the right three to go through?

ALSO:

‘The Voice’ recap: Second-round battles wrap up

‘The Voice’ recap: Playoffs! Blake Shelton taps his top 3

‘The Voice’ recap: Teams Shakira and Adam wow in playoffs