Asher HaVon won “The Voice” on Tuesday as three of the reality show’s four coaches also prepared to take their final bows.
The 31-year-old soul and R&B singer from Selma, Ala., was moved to tears when his victory was announced during the second half of the two-night season finale. The finale’s voiceover explained that HaVon hadn’t sung in two and a half years before he auditioned with Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” but he left with a $100,000 cash prize and a record deal with Republic Records.
“Thank you for giving me such a safe place to be my authentic self,” HaVon, who is the show’s first openly LGBTQ+ winner, told McEntire before the announcement. “Thank you for making me believe in myself, and I promise you, I will never let you down.”
It was a great night for Team Reba with another one of her singers, Josh Sanders, taking second place. Third place went to Bryan Olesen (Team John Legend), fourth to Nathan Chester (also Team John), and fifth to Karen Waldrup (Team Dan + Shay).
Tuesday’s show also featured performances from the Black Keys, Jelly Roll, Kate Hudson, Lainey Wilson, Muni Long, Thomas Rhett, and Season 23 winner Gina Miles.
HaVon wowed audiences during his final performances on Monday night, singing “I Will Always Love You” and Donna Summer’s disco hit “Last Dance.” Both received standing ovations, with McEntire clasping her hands to her heart for the former and coaches standing to dance along for the latter.
“Asher deserves to win,” McEntire said on Monday. “Asher is what this show’s all about, finding talent that is so raw, they don’t even know what they’re doing. I would feel like a proud mama if Asher won ‘The Voice.’”
The other coaches agreed.
“I truly believe you’re the best vocalist in this competition,” Legend told HaVon following his rendition of “Last Dance.” . “Maybe this is a lane that you should consider. … Some of the best artists in disco and house were gospel-trained and have that voice. It fit you like a glove.”
McEntire, fresh off her first victory as a coach on the show and in her second season, will be the only coach staying for Season 26. Legend, Chance the Rapper and duo Dan + Shay will make way for Gwen Stafani’s return and newcomers Snoop Dogg and Michael Bublé.
“It’s exciting to incorporate some new people into ‘The Voice’ family,” Legend told ET earlier this month. The “Ordinary People” singer has been a coach since Season 16. “Having Snoop here, he’s been here as a mentor before, but having him as a coach, I think, is going to be a lot of fun and reinvigorate the show a bit.”
Dan + Shay, who made their coaching debut this season, said the newcomers were already prepared to sit in the swivel chairs.
“We’ve got no advice. Those guys are seasoned pros, at the top of their game, they don’t need our advice!” Dan told ET. “That’s such a cool lineup — Gwen, Reba’s coming back — that’s a squad right there.”
Their fans don’t need to fret, however. The artists may be busy with their careers, but there’s still a possibility of them returning.
“I’ll be doing a lot of shows this summer and traveling overseas this summer,” Legend explained. But “I’ll be back.”
Dan + Shay are in the same boat.
“We’re touring a lot this year, which we’re really excited about, but obviously doesn’t allow us to come back,” Shay said. “That would be a blast, if they would have us, we would definitely love to see what that looks like.”
Chance the Rapper, who appeared in seasons 23 and 25, hasn’t given updates regarding a potential return, but the three-time Grammy winner is rumored to be finishing his next album, “Star Line.”
Regardless, it’s clear that Chance enjoyed his time as a coach.
The experience was “pretty surreal,” the rapper told news station WTHR in an interview during his first season on the show. “Once I started doing the show, I didn’t expect it [to] be so fun and so cool.”
Season 26 of “The Voice” will air on NBC this fall.
