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‘The Voice’ Finale: Did The Best Artist Win Season 8? [Spoilers]

By Toni Matthews
Published on: 15:15 PST, May 19, 2015

WARNING: This article discusses the outcome of a show that may not have aired in all locations. Avoid reading if you wish to not be spoiled about the outcome of The Voice season finale!

It was another star-studded finale for NBC’s The Voice. Meghan Trainor and Ed Sheeran returned to the stage to perform their recent hits, and Voice finalist Koryn Hawthorne enjoyed a stirring duet of “I’d Rather Go Blind” with American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. But it wasn’t merely the celebrity guest appearances that had people tuning into the season finale of The Voice.

Tonight, at long last, fans of the show were going to find out the Season 8 winner. Depending on who you are, the series ending seemed destined to be an anticlimactic affair. After all, there had been one consistent front-runner for the entire Voice season.

Sixteen-year-old Sawyer Fredericks had been the growing favorite to win it all.

However, it’s important to note that The Voice can be altered by producers as they see fit — the contracts of Voice participants mean that they can’t say anything about a fixed outcome if it were to occur. When considering the instant save drama that went down with India Carney (still skeptical they’ll be bringing it back next season), it’s very possible the producers would step into avoid a PR disaster.

Luckily, that seemed not to be the case as, predictably, it was Fredericks who won. Although some might be disappointed that there was no surprise twist or suspense, this is probably the best possible outcome for The Voice. One can argue that Sawyer Fredericks was and remains the best possible shot The Voice has to put forth a legitimate and unique talent. Fredericks draws fans from various age groups, and has been one of the most consistently popular artists in the history of the series. From a profitability standpoint, it’s easy to argue that the best possible person won The Voice.

Of course, that only accounts for Voice eliminations where the Voice audience was allowed to be involved. Is it possible a show winner was eliminated well before control was handed (mostly) over to the voting public? That’s something that will continually be debated about singing competitions, where so many of the early decisions are made by the Voice judges and producers.

The good news is that the Sawyer Fredericks win was predicted by his high iTunes ranking, and the popularity of his YouTube videos, when compared to the Voice competition. It suggests there’s a strong interest in young Sawyer, should there be a genuine desire to boost his career and produce a truly popular artist.

On this point, I remain skeptical. I do think that Sawyer Fredericks was the best possible artist to come out of this season, and the show’s best shot at proving itself as a launching pad for talented and unique singers. A blatant failure to do so while serving as a platform for established artists after eight seasons can only signal the beginning of the end for The Voice. You can only sell yourself as an amazing opportunity for so long before people begin to truly question the claim.

In any case, congratulations to Sawyer Fredericks and best of luck to the teen. Hopefully, the genuine enthusiasm of mentor Pharrell Williams will mean guidance and aid beyond this season.

What did you think of The Voice finale? Should Sawyer Fredericks have won Season 8?

[Image Credit: NBC The Voice]

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