'The Voice' Recap: Season 3 Winner Is Crowned

NBC

It’s been a long journey for the three finalists of The Voice.  Pop-rocker Cassadee Pope, soul singer Nicholas David and Scottish rocker Terry McDermott have made it through the blind auditions, the battle rounds, the knockout rounds and the live shows. They’ve fought against insecurity, bonded with their coaches, gotten emotional onstage and sung their hearts out in hopes of becoming the champion. They’ve laughed, they’ve cried, and they’ve sung with some of their idols.

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And, on Tuesday, a season three winner was crowned.

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The two-hour live finale featured a slew of performances leading up to the big announcement.

And the season three winner is: Cassadee Pope.

Second place went to Terry McDermott, and third place went to Nicholas David.

Pope, coached by Blake Shelton, was a strong contender for the majority of the season, especially after she performed an emotional rendition of Miranda Lambert's "Over You," which became a hit on the iTunes chart.

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A big highlight of the live show was a final performance by all of the coaches. With Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green leaving their coaches' chairs for season four, it was great to see all four coaches hit the stage one more time to sing Green Day's "Time of Your Life."

The show also included performances by some of music’s biggest stars. Rihanna opened the show with a performance of her hit “Diamonds.” American Idol grad Kelly Clarkson sang “Catch My Breath,” off her greatest hits album, with the help of Pope and McDermott. Bruno Mars debuted his song “When I Was Your Man,” and The Killers performed “Runaways” with Pope.

All three of the finalists got to sing duets with some major music stars. David joined Smokey Robinson, McDermott performed with Peter Frampton, and Pope got to perform with her music idol, Avril Lavigne.

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Additionally, some of the former season three contestants returned to perform on the Voice stage once again. Supergroups were formed, themed with “the heartbreakers” and “the power ladies.” A special highlight for us was when David brought back fan favorites Trevin Hunte, Dez Duron and Amanda Brown for a performance of "End of the Road." That's a group of people who left the show too soon, and it's great that fans got to see them perform once more.

But even the finalists who didn’t walk away with the title were winners on Tuesday. In a strange Price is Right moment, the three remaining contestants were presented with new cars from “Saint Cee Lo.”

What did you think of the results of Tuesday’s show? Was the right person chosen as the winner? Sound off in the comments section below.