'The Voice' - Grand finale

After last night's performances, I think we can all agree that if Jermaine Paul or Juliet Simms were to win, America made the right choice.

However, as I said in my last post, that rarely happens.

All of the contestants gave strong performances, which is going to make this a close call. When voting is involved, simply singing to the best of your ability is never enough - you have to think about marketing strategies. I will give Tony Lucca some points for that, because I doubt he would have made it this far if it weren't for a little ingenuity.

When the media is writing about “The Voice” the next day, the controversies get more column inches than the actual performances (a point I'm currently helping to prove). After Christina Aguilera made a snarky remark about “The Mickey Mouse Club” during her review of Lucca, that is what everyone was talking about. He followed it up with a killer rendition of Britney Spears' “...Baby One More Time” and he kept the conversation going - snagging crucial votes in the process.

Lucca later said to CNN, “I apologize for my role in (the drama).” Quit playing us lip service, Lucca! You know exactly what you're doing! He kept it going with his performance of “99 Problems” last night - it was awesome, by the way - which seemed to be a dig at Aguilera. I appreciate him stirring things up but I hope it doesn't result in a win over the two most deserving finalists, Paul and Simms.

Paul has delivered pitch-perfect performances time and again, and did not disappoint with his passionate rendition of “I Believe I Can Fly” - he sang like he was singing for his life, and it was excellent. Simms also nailed it with “Free Bird” last night. She sings from the soul and can really pack a punch with that gritty voice of hers.

As consistently good as Paul is, I don't get excited to hear him each week the way I do with Simms. She has that certain je nais se quoi. Take Chris Mann as an example of a singer who doesn't have "it." He has a beautiful operatic voice but when he begins to sing, it's like someone hit the snooze button in my brain.

I hope Simms wins - but with Cee Lo on her side, there's no doubt that she could become a star after this either way. After last night, there is no telling how the grand finale will turn out. Will Lucca take the teen girl fanatic vote? Did Mann secure the Christian vote after singing Josh Groban's “You Raise Me Up?”

In just a few short hours, we will find out.