‘The Voice’ recap: Before Josh Kaufman wins, so many stars

Josh Kaufman of Team Usher captured the Season 6 crown on Tuesday night’s episode of “The Voice.� Team Blake’s Jake Worthington came in second, and Team Adam’s Christina Grimmie slid in at third. This we’ve discussed.

But that news came in the final five moments of a two-hour finale filled with performances, looks back and even a bit of side news. So what else happened during the remaining 1 hour and 55 minutes?

Well, there was no performance by Cher or olive-branch-extending duet by Christina Aguilera and Lady Gaga, as there have been in “Voice� finales past, but there were a few subtler highlights:

-- OneRepublic kicked off the show with a steaming rendition of “Love Runs Out.�

-- Adam Levine announced that he’d sign Grimmie to his label should she fail to collect the win and the record deal that comes with it.

-- Levine and Blake Shelton group-hugged it out with Usher and Shakira, because the latter two will be absent from their coaching chairs next season. (Pharrell and Gwen Stefani will coach in their stead.) Shakira’s comments thereafter sounded valedictory (as she has sounded in recent interviews), but Carson Daly noted that “once you have a big red chair, you do have it for life,� so who knows?

-- Grimmie joined Ed Sheeran in a gorgeous duet of his “All of the Stars.� Their intertwined voices sounded like a caress. (Sheeran later sang his song “Sing,� sans Grimmie.)

-- Usher likened Shelton to “a hairless Chewbacca.�

-- Worthington joined Alabama for the classic country-rock band’s “Mountain Music,� and suddenly it felt like we were at the Grand Ole Opry.

-- All three finalists were given cars, provided by show sponsor Kia. Kaufman called his wife to check which she’d like him to pick. Worthington, who said he planned to give his to his grandma, opened up one car’s hood to look at the engine. Impressive due diligence.

-- Kaufman and Robin Thicke combined their soulfully pretty/gritty vocals on Thicke’s “Get Her Back.� Kaufman, though a family man, poured himself into the number as if he wanted to go get Thicke’s estranged wife, Paula Patton, back for him.

-- Grimmie’s bring-back performance featured her best pals on the show -- former contestants Bria Kelly, Tess Boyer and Jake Barker. They clearly took pleasure in playing off one another on “Team,� performing the song as if it were their own group anthem.

-- After watching images of Shelton and Worthington joking around with each other all season long, Daly said, “I could watch that all night.� He’s not the only one.

-- Performing “A Sky Full of Stars,� Coldplay’s Chris Martin took a flying leap off the high box he’d been bouncing around on and landed solidly on the stage. The acrobatic move was strangely satisfying.

The evening also featured performances by Tim McGraw, Justin Moore and others.

What was your favorite moment?