Entertainment

Who Earned Pharrell's Final Steal on 'The Voice'?

by Jessica Molinari

Blake Shelton paired pop against country and gave the contestants a country song — it's pretty obvious who was going to win. Country singer Corey Kent White battled aspiring pop star Jacob Rummell to Hunter Hayes' "I Want Crazy." The young artists had some trouble in rehearsals but overcame their nerves to deliver a killer performance. Both White and Rummell gave the song their all, but it was White who took the win. But the more exciting part of the battle was when Pharrell used his final steal to bring Rummell to his team. Both contestants belong on the show — and now they're both with the best coach for them.

White's battle against Rummell was different than most because the two artists are very different. Coaches normally pair pop singers with pop singers, country with country, soul with soul, etc. But Shelton paired country against pop, which brought a cool dynamic to the song. While White performed "I Want Crazy" the way it was written, — because he basically is Hunter Hayes — Rummell took the song in a whole different direction and really made it his own. He turned the country love song into a fun, bubblegum pop version of itself — and it was genius. Rummell forced the audience to listen to him by putting his own mark on the tune and totally overpowered White's by-the-book performance.

Though Rummell's performance was captivating and strong, White deserved the win. White did a great job with the song and is the perfect fit for Team Blake. If he can learn to get over his nerves and open his eyes he will make it far in this game — and probably get a date with Meghan Trainor. Rummell wouldn't have done well on Team Blake, so the coach was right to let him go. The aspiring pop star will thrive on Team Pharrell, a.k.a. Team Other, because his voice is one of a kind. Pharrell will work out Rummell's kinks — no, not the ones in his hair — and turn him into a really strong contestant on this season. His journey will definitely be one to watch.

Image: Tyler Golden/NBC