'The Voice' Season 18 Finale: Ryan Tedder and Songland's Shane McAnally help contestants with their original compositions
Songwriter and producer Shane McAnally and singer-songwriter and record producer Ryan Tedder's expertise were sought out for the finale. They were tasked with helping the finalists bring life to their original compositions, the one that they'd sing as part of their performances.
McAnally is a three-time Grammy winner and two-time ACM Songwriter of the Year. Throughout his career, he has worked with country superstars Kacey Musgraves, Kelly Clarkson, and Sam Hunt amongst other artists. He currently appears as a judge on Season 2 of NBC's songwriting themed reality show titled 'Songland'. Tedder is the lead singer of the band OneRepublic and a four-time Grammy award-winning songwriter. He has produced songs for artists like Adele, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and Jonas Brothers.
Team Kelly Clarkson's Micah Iverson was working with Shane McAnally for his original composition called 'Butterflies'. The song leaned towards the pop genre and had all the elements of a song that could be a hit with radio listeners.
After his performance, first-time coach - Nick Jonas stated: "Micah you have been so fun to watch throughout this journey. It was so interesting to hear your original song and to know what your artistry would be outside of the show. Whatever happens on the show, you'd be on the radio soon." His coach Kelly Clarkson too praised how cool as an artist he is and praised his artistic abilities that have made her "laugh and cry" at various points in the show.
Next was CammWess with his original composition 'Save It For Tomorrow' and Tedder was helping him put a few finishing touches to it. The message of the song was that one can always argue another day and use the present to create good memories. Wess put a lot of soul into the performance and his butter-smooth voice shone really bright in the entire duration of the song.
About his performance, Wess's coach told host Carson Daly: "He is such a great singer. His tone is so beautiful. I will hear it on the radio right now. He is ready to be an artist and make music the whole world should be listening to."
Toneisha Harris was working with McAnally for her original composition titled 'Superhero'. She had written this song two weeks after she and her son returned home from the hospital after the latter battled leukemia after being diagnosed in August 2011. Emotions of strength and courage were at the core of this song that she's written as a tribute to her son. She looked absolutely divine while singing her heart out with this song.
After her performance coach John Legend stated: "Your stories so amazing .. you told us about how u were supposed to be on the show many years ago. But everything happens at the right time. You had to go through this with your son which inspired you to write this song and this song was perfect for the moment with what this nation and the world is going through right now". Harris's coach Blake made light of the moment by stating that her mentee "forgot that we have to maintain social distancing" by "touching millions" through her performance.