The Voice recap: Meet your season 22 finalists

This one's going to hurt, folks. Tonight, ahead of next week's season 22 finale of The Voice, the Top 8 will become the Top 5, meaning three artists who are so close to the finish line are going home. That's rough.

Just in case you need a reminder, our host Mr. Carson Daly will let us know which way the audience vote went after last night's semi-final performances and we'll also earn which four artists received the most votes and will automatically move forward to the finale. Then, the remaining four artists will sing in the Instant Save Round and the winner will fill out the Top 5. I don't know, I think at this point in the competition the top five after audience votes should get to move forward without having to sing for their life, but The Voice must have its sacrifice, er, Instant Save performances.

Speaking of, along with the much-anticipated results, we get a few non-competitive performances, too. Two of our coaches take the stage: Blake Shelton sing shis little bop "Nobody" and then John Legend wanders out of the woods to perform his single "Nervous." Finally, country singer-songwriter Carly Pearce sings "What He Didn't Do." It's great and very sparkly, but come on, we're all waiting to learn who will be duking it out for the season 22 title!

Trae Patton/NBC John Legend performs on 'The Voice'

Now, without further ado, the artists moving on to the finale are…

Bryce Leatherwood (Team Blake)!

Morgan Myles (Team Camila)!

Bodie (Team Blake)!

Brayden Lape (Team Blake)!

INSTANT SAVE ROUND

Team Legend: Parijita Bastola, "Make You Feel My Love" by Bob Dylan

Parijita is doing Adele's version and it feels right and good! This is what Parijita does best and she nails it. It's clean and solid and her head voice really shines. "That was gorgeous," says her coach, applauding her for really rising to the occasion in this pressure cooker situation.

Team Legend: Kim Cruse, "All by Myself" by Eric Carmen

I mean… Brayden Lape is a cute kid and all, but he's going into the finale over this woman?! Kim Cruse crushes every performance in the most effortless way. And even more than hitting those huge notes perfectly, she emotes with every single word. "You are just incredible, so powerful, so moving," coach Legend says, not believing she's back in this situation. "Truly one of the best singers I've been around in my life," he adds.

Team Gwen: Justin Aaron, "Made a Way" by Travis Greene

I know I'm repeating myself here, but it's just bananas that Justin Aaron, especially after his performance last night, is in this position. What more can this man do?! This song feels quintessentially Justin Aaron — meant to be inspiring, full of huge notes that he really sells with passion. His coach Gwen Stefani is very emotional thinking about Justin's journey on the show, calling him "a gift" to watch this season.

Team Legend: Omar Jose Cardona, "You and I" by Lady Gaga

Omar? In the Instant Save? Well, Omar's certainly not going out without a fight. Like Justin, this feels like a perfect song choice to highlight what Omar does best: There's a nice build into those soaring notes Omar hits without breaking a sweat. Is this my favorite performance of his? Possibly! Now at his third artist in this Instant Save Round, John Legend seems pretty frustrated. He says it simply but so effectively: "If this is The Voice and we vote for people because of their voice, Omar is the voice, folks."

So, do only Blake Shelton fans watch The Voice anymore? It's insane that these are the four artists singing for one spot in the finale. If anything, it should be the complete opposite and Omar, Kim, Justin, and Aaron should all be safely in the Top 5. Anyway, here we go, friends. The fifth and final artist singing in next week's finale is… Omar Jose Cardona!

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• The Voice recap: The Top 8 pair up for Whitney Houston duets in the semifinals

• The Voice recap: A Team Legend singer wins the Instant Save Round to make the Top 8

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