RECAP: ‘The Voice’ Crowns Season 11 Winner

Since September, contestants of The Voice have been giving America their all in hopes of being deemed season 11 champion. Week after week, performers got eliminated until only four remained. And after three months of practice, hard work and dedication, either We McDonald, Josh Gallagher, Billy Gilman or Sundance Head were destined to win during Tuesday night’s live finale.

The broadcast was filled with performances from the final four, former season 11 contestants as well as some pretty big stars including Cam, John Legend, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson, The Weekend, Stevie Wonder and Sting. Weaved throughout the broadcast were comedy sketches featuring all the judges as well as behind-the-scenes looks at the contestants and the relationships with their respected coaches (We highly recommend watching the episode in full for a good laugh and even better look at the making of The Voice).

The final trophy hopefuls were given the opportunity to sing a duet with an established artist they admire as well as bring back friends they’ve made throughout the season to share the stage one more time. Gallagher of team Adam Levine partnered up with fellow country singer Cam to alternate lines on a smoky rendition of her hit, “Burning House.” Gallagher kept the contemporary country theme going when he brought back Austin Allsup and Brenden Fletcher for a cover of Jason Aldean’s “My Kinda Party,” complete with rocking guitars and flaming stage.

Blake Shelton’s remaining team member, Head, had a surprising mash up when he shared the stage with 80’s rock band, Kiss. Head didn’t follow suit of stage makeup for their performance of “Detroit Rock City,” but he kept up with the high energy band. Later in the evening, he brought his former teammates Allsup and Courtney Harrell to cover Cole Swindell’s “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey.”

Former child country star Gilman matched his voice with Clarkson for a reverent performance of “It’s Quiet Uptown.” He then brought back Ali Caldwell, Christian Cuevas, Harrell and Sa’rayah to channel their inner Tina Turner to perform “Proud Mary.” The fun and flashy number highlighted every artist’s vocals which had the fans and audience dancing.

In the final minutes of the two-hour airing, host Carson Daly revealed each contestants final standing beginning with fourth place and moving up to first. Gallagher finished in fourth, with McDonald coming in third. With hearts beating fast, it was finally revealed that Sundance Head was the winner of season 11. Emotions ran high as Head’s name was announced and runner-up Gilman looked equally as happy for his fellow cast member.

Head closed out the episode by performing his original song “Darlin’ Don’t Go” and giving us all a preview of his promising career to come.