There’s a new champ! Chris Blue was named as the winner of The Voice’s season 12 during the Tuesday, May 23, finale, giving his coach Alicia Keys her first win, too.
The Knoxville native, 26, competed alongside Jesse Larson from Adam Levine’s team and Lauren Duski and Aliyah Moulden from Blake Shelton’s team. Each finalist was paired up with an accomplished musician for their final performance.
On Tuesday’s finale, Blue sang “Everybody Hurts” with Usher, and they dedicated the song to the victims of recent tragedies, such as the Manchester terror attack at Ariana Grande’s concert. Meanwhile, Larson teamed up with CeeLo Green to sing “Shining Star,” Dunski took the stage with Little Big Town to perform “Better Man” and Aliyah added her vocals to Alessia Cara’s “Scars To Your Beautiful.”
In the Monday, May 22, episode leading up to the finale, Blue stunned the audience with his three performances. He belted out his original song “Money on You,” sang a duet with Keys of Prince’s “Diamonds and Pearls” and delivered an amazing rendition of Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation”
https://youtube.com/watch?v=JszPlO41_lo
Blue, who landed a record deal and $100,000 prize, was a surprising winner because he was the very last person selected to join the NBC singing competition during the blind auditions. Coaches Levine, Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s team were all full, and Keys had one remaining spot. Of course, she turned her chair for the pop and R&B singer.
Blue told USA Today that he’ll be using his winnings to give his fiancée, Stephanie, the wedding of her dreams. “[I] can give [Stephanie] the wedding she desires and the start of a very long life together,” he said. “We had to take a lot of things away from our already stripped-down wedding. We didn’t even have wedding [invitations]. Couldn’t afford it. The church wasn’t even going to be decorated. Couldn’t afford it.”
