The Voice recap: The top five sing for the win

Welcome to the finale performances for Blake Shelton's The Voice season 22! (Sorry, I said what I said!)

After the way things shook out in the semi-finals last week — with three of Team Blake's artists making it into the Top 5 by audience vote even though two of them, although they have their merits, have no business pushing out vocalists like Justin Aaron and Kim Cruse — it certainly feels like The Voice voters are staying loyal to coaches more than anything else. Regardless, here we are: Our Top 5 — Morgan Myles, bodie, Omar Jose Cardona, Bryce Leatherwood, and Brayden Lape — each have two chances to prove they deserve the trophy at the end of tomorrow night's results show. One performance will be a "thank you" to special people in their lives and one will be a more uptempo song meant to showcase how they envision themselves as an artist. There's a lot riding on these song choices! But the evening isn't all pressure-filled: Coaches Gwen Stefani, Camila Cabello, John Legend, and Shelton get all snazzed up in their holiday finest and perform a lovely little rendition of "The Christmas Song" to get us all in the mood. It's very nice!

Okay, now back to the stress. Let's talk performances.

Team Blake: bodie, "Late Night Talking" by Harry Styles

bodie's pumped to be doing an uptempo song. He's done a lot of serious performances leading up to this — and he's excited to not only show off his artistry again by making this Harry Styles jam his own, but to get people up out of their seats. He succeeds in both! He does a cool jazzy, slower intro and then it picks up and he looks like he's having a great time. If bodie isn't in the final two tomorrow night, I'll be shocked. Gwen tells him he "[has] it all" and John applauds bodie for having a "clear and compelling" vision for himself as an artist and effortlessly translating that into his performances.

Team Camila: Morgan Myles, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler

Our soul-country storyteller is taking on an iconic song for her first performance, knowing she has to "pull out all the stops" to push past Team Blake. In rehearsal, Camila notes that there's a lot of similarities between Morgan's voice and Bonnie Tyler's — rasp, grit, passion. John calls out the rasp too, noting how that "crackle" at the top of Morgan's range adds an urgency to everything she's singing, plus it doesn't hurt that she knows how to sell a performance. She always leaves it all out there. Her coach, Camila, is beside herself with excitement and puts it plainly: "I want this for you so bad, you deserve to win The Voice."

Team Blake: Brayden Lape, "Humble and Kind" by Tim McGraw

Team Blake's teen heartthrob is dedicating his "thank you" song to everyone back in his Michigan hometown. It's another laid back performance with an even more laid back vocal. Especially following those first two performances, Brayden's "Humble and Kind" doesn't exactly give off finale vibes. There's technical vocal issues and it's lacking Brayden's usual spark that has, obviously, served him well in the competition. This is not the time to slack off! The coaches don't have much to say about the performance, but Blake reiterates that he's "not at all surprised" Brayden's made it this far, and makes sure the kid knows how much he has "in front of [him]" career-wise, should he want it.

Trae Patton/NBC

Team Legend: Omar Jose Cardona, "The Way You Make Me Feel" by Michael Jackson

Omar gives his "thank you" to his family in a moving letter and then performs "The Way You Make Me Feel". Which does not seem like a song you sing to your family? Still, Omar rocks the single glove and shows off some fun dance moves, as well as some great vocals. It's no "My Heart Will Go On" but what is, really? John says he'd totally believe Omar was lip synching (he is not) because of how "perfect" his vocals are while he's throwing out some legit dance moves. Omar's a performer through and through and he's making sure the audience hasn't forgotten it.

Team Blake: Bryce Leatherwood, "Don't Close Your Eyes" by Keith Whitley

"The story of Bryce Leatherwood will always start with Georgia," Bryce says as he dedicates his performance to his home state. I mean, how do you read a letter like that and not do a country version "Georgia on My Mind"? Willie Nelson did it! It's the finals, spice it up. Instead, Bryce does another solid country classic. You can't say this guy doesn't know who he is as an artist. Gwen tells him that if he doesn't win The Voice, he's "just won a career" in country music. Blake applauds the smart song choice, knowing that it will appeal to diehard country fans.

Team Blake: Brayden Lape, "Wild as Her" by Cory Kent

Brayden gets one last chance to show that over months of this competition he's finally learned how to adjust a mic stand — he fails. But only because Blake sets him up! It's actually very cute and a reminder of Brayden's likability. His final competitive performance on the voice is another country-pop song and this time, Blake wants him to show off a little more edge than normal. And that doesn't really happen. It's a much better showcase for Brayden than his first performance, though. John congratulates him on handling this whole situation with "so much poise, so much cool, so much grace."

Team Camila: Morgan Myles, "Girl Crush" by Little Big Town

These "thank you" dedication song choices are wild, but okay! This song — which she, I guess, dedicates to her parents — is a great pick for Morgan in general, reminding everyone of her country roots. She could really win this thing and this performance makes that undeniably clear. Gwen is blown away by the control Morgan has over her voice, able to lean into those "tender moments" and then effortlessly move into a belt. Even just tonight Morgan's shown that she's versatile, but Gwen tells her that "country looks good on [her]." In fact, John Legend makes a bold statement, calling Morgan "the best country singer [he's] seen since [he's] been on The Voice."

Team Blake: Bryce Leatherwood, "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" by Travis Tritt

Our country boy tells Blake and Carson Daly that he has "a few tricks up [his] sleeve" for the finale and he decides to let loose and have a good time up on stage in way we haven't seen from him before (plus, this Travis Tritt song is originally an Elvis Presley song, so that's a little bit of a stretch outside his wheelhouse, right? Sort of?). It certainly shows that Bryce can be a performer, too — all four coaches are up on their feet. John Legend's right — he saved this whole other side to his voice and performance level for this final moment. He calls it "fun and exciting" and in stark contrast to the more mellow performances he's given all season long. Camila Cabello tells him he's "a star up there."

Team Blake: bodie, "Gratitude" by Brandon Lake

For his final competitive performance, bodie is really showing off that he's a genre hopper — this time, it's Christian pop/rock. It's an interesting note to go out on, since bodie seems better suited for some other lanes. He's dedicating it to his daughters though and it certainly gives him ample opportunity to show off his ability to hit those soaring notes. The coaches are all moved (out of their seats and otherwise). Blake tells bodie that it was "one of the most moving performances [he's] seen in a long time on this show."

Team Legend: Omar Jose Cardona, "Somebody to Love" by QueenThroughout the season, Omar's been compared to Freddie Mercury several times so the finale seems like the time to finally sing a little Freddie. Why not? Flanked by a huge chorus, Omar demonstrates exactly why those comparisons were being made. This is a finale performance! The man is being hoisted up in the air and still hitting every note! Camila calls him inspiring and deserving of his spot here in the finals. John makes a great point when he says, "America, I do not know what else Omar could do on this stage to show you he is the voice." I mean really, what else?

Check out our daily must-see picks — plus news, celeb interviews, trivia, and more — on EW's What to Watch podcast.

Related content:

• The Voice recap: Meet your season 22 finalists

• 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