Team Michael Bublé’s Sofronio Vasquez Wins Season 26 of The Voice
Season 26 of The Voice came to a wrap on Tuesday night (Dec 10) with newcomer coach Michael Bublé taking home the trophy with his 32 year-old powerhouse singer from the Philippines, Sofronio Vasquez. (Read our Recap)
Coming in second place was fellow Team Michael storytelling singer, 18-year-old, Shye. Team Gwen Stefani’s 15-year-old pop singer, Sydney Sterlace finished third. Team Reba McEntire’s rocker, Danny Joseph came in fourth, with fellow newcomer coach Snoop Dogg taking home fifth place with theatrical singer, Jeremy Beloate.
For many, Sofronio was the first singer they heard this season with his audition of Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Going Down” being the first leak of the season for Episode 1, and the second audition aired overall. The four-chair turner chose Michael over the other coaches, and he remained on Michael’s team throughout the competition.
Sofronio tried The Voice Philippines a few years back and no one turned for him
Prior to his performance on Monday night’s performance final (Read our Recap), he relived his journey with Michael and Carson Daly prior to this performance. He tells them he tried The Voice Philippines a few years back and no one turned for him, so this was a full circle moment. Michael felt connected to Sofronio from day one as the Philippines was the place where Michael broke through. Sofronio when asked what it would mean to win said, “never would have I imagined myself trying to give myself financial support, and randomly, now on the biggest stage of America.”
“This is a fight song, and right now Sofronio is fighting for his life”
Sofronio sang “Unstoppable” by Sia for his uptempo number. In rehearsal, Michael worked with the singer and the band to take it to “Motown.” Michael said, “This is a fight song, and right now Sofronio is fighting for his life.” Sofronio started slow with a soulful sound. The song is more in the pop realm than what Sofronio has tackled in other performances. It slowly built until he hit some impressive runs, and then he truly let loose at the bridge, singing several soulful adlibs. It was a passionate performance. Snoop bowed down to Sofronio. Reba remarked, “You have achieved so much in such a little time”. Michael added, “I’m going to have to go suck on lemons, so I can stop smiling after this” as he was so proud of his team member.
Sofronio has “A Million Dreams”
Sofronio picked “A Million Dreams” for his ballad choice. Recently, Sofronio moved to America, Utica, New York, to help his family financially where he works as a dental assistant. The song, “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman was a perfect pick as Sofronio’s story is one of dreaming. The song showed off Sofronio’s tone, especially on the chorus where his tone truly shined. It was not his best technical vocal, but it may be his most emotional vocal to date, which may have been important when sealing the victory. Snoop called Sofronio “big time.” Michael related to Sofronio’s song choice, saying, “it meant a lot to my family.”
On Tuesday’s (Dec 10) finale, Michael picked a song for their coaches duet that highlighted Sofronio’s voice. The soulful “Who’s Loving You” was more what I would have expected him to sing during the competition rounds on Monday night. But either way, it was a nice way to end the competition for Sofronio prior to being named the winner.
When Carson called Sofronio’s name, you could simply see the tears of joy in his eyes. The final 2 of the season were truly deserving, including Sofronio taking home the victory after a string of consistent performances.
