Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Marshmellow and Ann-Marie perform earlier this year on NBC. Ann-Marie has already guest starred on The Voice this season; Marshmellow will tonight. UGH! (NBC Photo)

The Voice press release proclaims the show will be presenting a star-studded Season 15 finale tonight.

You can tell I don’t neccessarily agree by the headline on this blog — The Voice plans a finale that’s barely worth watching.

aka: This show should never be nominated for another Emmy, let alone win one.

Cutting through all the crap in the press release, here’s what we’re in for Tuesday night …

* Jennifer Hudson and Kelly Clarkson will perform “O Holy Night.”

* Season 16 Voice coach John Legend will perform “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with an assist from Esperanza Spalding.

* Dierks Bentley will perform his new single “Burning Man.”

* Halsey will perform her hit single “Without Me.”

* DJ/producer Marshmello will perform his latest single, “Happier,” featuring British band Bastille.

* Panic! At The Disco will perform a medley of “High Hopes” and “Hey Look Ma, I Made It.”

* Brynn Cartelli, Season 14 winner of “The Voice,” will perform her new self-penned song “Last Night’s Mascara.”

Count ’em. That’s seven performances that have absolutely nothing to do with Season 15 of The Voice or The Voice Season 15 cast.

Newsflash to The Voice: I do not tune into this show to watch Marshmello or Dierks Bentley or Panic! At the Disco.

Newsflash to The Voice: I do not tune into this show to watch your superstar coaches perform either.

Newflash to The Voice: The only superstar performance above that I have any interest in seeing is the one by Season 14 champ Brynn Cartelli.

Have you heard her new single? I mean, wow!

But I credit her appearance more to the pull of her Season 14 coach Kelly Clarkson than any sudden compulsion by The Voice to promote past contestants.

I think that’s pretty clear given the dearth of past contestants on that Tuesday night performance lineup.

It wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, The Voice finale really seemed like a celebration of the season.

Take Season 7. Everyone in the Top 20 was invited back to participate. They performed in a couple of group numbers.

Each finalist took the stage for a superstar duet. Each finalist took the stage a second time with their closest friends from Season 7.

And at the end of the show, Season 7 champ Craig Wayne Boyd sang his winner’s single as confetti fell and his wife and son congratulated him on stage.

Tuesday’s show will still feature those finalist-superstar duets. Chris Kroeze, Chevel Shepherd, Kennedy Holmes and Kirk Jay will all be paired with someone of note. Probably someone of note with new music or a new project to pimp.

Don’t expect to see the Top 24. Or even the Top 13. The Voice has severely reduced the number of contestants who get to perform in the finale. Also gone are the performances featuring the finalists and their best friends from the show.

Hell, The Voice can’t even end the finale correctly. If producers follow their recent form, they’ll shove a trophy in the hands of Kirk, Kennedy, Chris or Chevel, drop a bit of confetti and cut to commercial, leaving fans no time to savor the victory by their favorite.

As proof, I offer below the spring 2018 coronations of Brynn and American Idol winner Maddie Poppe.

Brynn’s 3-minute clip ends shortly after Carson Daly announces her the winner. Maddie’s goes on for 3 more minutes as she’s swarmed on stage by fellow contestants in a raucous celebration.

You tell me which makes for more compelling TV.

Wanna do yourself a favor — and send The Voice a message? Don’t even tune in to the finale (9 to 11 p.m. EST) until the final 10 minutes, when the results are announced. Or else mute your TV every time one of these “superstar” performances begin. Which is what I intend to do.

Instead, head to your favorite music streaming service, punch in the names of your favorite past Voice contestants and enjoy their new music. I’ve posted an alternate playlist to my blog to help you do just that.

It’s time for The Voice to return to finales that are a celebration of the show and its contestants rather than a parade of big names eager to use The Voice to market themselves.