Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Maelyn Jarmon, Season 16 champ on The Voice, is now recording as Maelyn and will return to perform on the Season 17 finale.

And producers found room in their “star-studded” lineup for just one alumni.

Season 16 champ Maelyn Jarmon will be on hand to perform “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” a cover she’s also released to streaming sites.

As for Monday’s performance finale, The Voice has now confirmed that each finalist will perform three times, as has been tradition.

One performance will be a duet with his/her coach. One will be a new cover. One will be each finalist’s debut single.

Streams of the solo performances will count as votes once the show starts. In recent seasons, the duets haven’t been available on Apple Music or iTunes.

Monday’s show still starts at 8 p.m., but Tuesday’s finale has a 9 p.m. start time, preceded by an 8 p.m. preview for die-hard fans.

Also appearing on Tuesday’s finale …

* Jennifer Hudson singing “Memory” from the upcoming film “Cats.”

* The Black Eyed Peas performing their new single “RITMO (Bad Boys for Life).”

* Luke Combs performing his country single “Even Though I’m Leaving.”

* Lady Antebellum performing their single “What If I Never Get Over You.”

* Dua Lipa performing “Don’t Start Now,” the lead single from her upcoming album.

You might ask what Dua, Lady A, Luke, Jennifer and the Black Eyed Peas have to do with Season 17 of The Voice.

The answer is absolutely nothing. Which is what makes the Voice finales seem far less celebratory than they should be.

And this would be a wonderful place for me to remind viewers that American Idol makes its finale all about the season just completed.

And for me to predict that American Idol Season 18 will be much, much, much, much more worth investing your time in than The Voice Season 18.

Especially since The Voice announced it’s doing away with Tuesday episodes for most of the spring and might have as few as three weeks of live shows.

More info should be coming. Each finalist will probably have a performance with another “guest star.” Those haven’t been announced yet.

And, of course, the night will end with Jake Hoot, Ricky Duran, Rose Short or Katie Kadan being crowed as the Season 17 champ.

See also …
Ranking the Top 4 on The Voice
A look back at Jake Hoot’s Voice performances
A look back at Katie Kadan’s Voice performances
A look back at Ricky Duran’s Voice performances
A look back at Rose Short’s Voice performances
iTunes results for the Top 8