.jpg?fit=900%2C507)
Chilled soulful singer Johnny Rollins, Sydney rocker Frank Lakoudis, classically-trained pop singer-songwriter Jackson Thomas, Indigenous R’n’B duo ZK or country-girl diva Anja Nissen? Who do you think will be The Voice?
Final time!!! Will.i.am posts to Instagram.
1. Johnny Rollins
Chilled Melbournite drummer turned singer who belts out R’n’B tunes with feel. Think John Legend, Lenny Kravitz and Ben Harper.
Off-stage: Barista
Coach: Kylie Minogue
Highlights: Percy Sledge’s When a Man Loves a Woman
Chances: Favourite
Rollins is the leading contender with a certain betting agency pinning him as the favourite. He has two distinct advantages.
First, each iTunes purchase counts as two votes and Rollins’ semi-final rendition of Percy Sledge’s classicWhen a Man Loves a Womanis the highest on the charts out of all the competitors. It is currently sitting at number 34 on the iTunes Australian singles chart and is the only track from the show to crack the Top 50.
Second, Minogue is swinging her monstrous social media machine into action, encouraging her millions of fans to vote for Team Kylie.
2. Frank Lakoudis
Sydney rocker and lead singer of a heavy metal band called ‘Rattlesnake’, determined to bring back the 70s rock scene. Think Bon Jovi. Off-stage: 3D animator, studying web and app design
Coach: Joel Madden
Highlights: Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song and Lenny Kravitz’s American Woman
Chances: Good Lakoudis’ powerhouse vocals have had him ahead of everyone in The Voice every times he steps on stage.
3. Jackson Thomas
Classically trained boy soprano in the Australian Opera became a pop-folk-rock singer-songwriter. Think Jeff Buckley and Matt Corby.
Off-stage: Third-generation electrician working on the railways in Melbourne
Coach: Ricky Martin
Highlights: Armin van Buuren’s This is What it Feels Like and Lorde’s Royals
Chances: Outside Jackson has been described as a “quiet achiever” and even “milquetoast”, raising doubts that he can cross the finish without being more dominant on stage.
4. Anja Nissen
The show’s big singing diva with a huge powerhouse voice. Think Patti Labelle, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion and Mariah Carey.
Off-stage: 18-year-old high school graduate
Coach: Will.i.am
Highlights: Whitney Houston’s *I Have Nothing
Chance: Outside. If having the best voice meant WINNING The Voice, then Anja would be a shoe-in. But she only scraped into the finals by a whisker and ended up being a wild card. Also, she’s the only female soloist in the final … male bias trend perhaps?
Ingenious duo, ZK
5. ZK
Adelaide’s indigenous R’n’B duo Kristal West and Zaachariaha Fielding are at home at the crossroads of folk, soul and R’n’B. Think a blend of Lauren Hill, Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston and Beyoncé.
Off-stage: Kristal is a health worker in Port Augusta and Zaachariaha is trained in arts administration
Coach: Will.i.am
Highlights: A Great Big World’s Say Something
Chances: Dark horse Apparently Kristal and Zaachariaha are the ones most likely to have a serious musical career ahead of them but they’re disadvantaged in this competition … partly because they are not a single scruffy-looking male which The Voice audience seems to go for.
