Sofronio Vasquez had barely belted the first line to Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Goin’ Down” before chairs started spinning. Choosing Michael Bublé as his coach, the 32-year-old Philippines native only improved with each performance. Thanks to a stellar cover of Elvis Presley’s “If I Can Dream,” Vasquez joined fellow Team Bublé member Shye among the top 5 artists battling it out during the season 26 finale of The Voice. Once all the votes were in, only Team Bublé remained onstage. The two clasped hands as host Carson Daly announced that Sofronio Vasquez would take home the recording contract and $100,000 prize. Following his historic win, Vasquez shared his true feelings about beating Shye with American Songwriter.
Sofronio Vasquez Thought This Artist Would Win ‘The Voice’
After months of rehearsing and performing, Sofronio Vasquez left it all onstage during finale night with soaring performances of Sia’s “Unstoppable” and “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman.
At the end of the Tuesday (Dec. 10) finale, Vasquez and Shye joined Jeremy Beloate, Danny Joseph and Sydney Sterlace onstage to learn who would walk away victorious from The Voice season 26. Daly called Beloate’s name. Then Joseph’s. Then Sterlace’s—and suddenly, it was only Team Bublé.
Standing onstage awaiting his fate, Vasquez says he was at peace regardless of the outcome. But he had an idea of who the winner would be—and it wasn’t himself.
“I really thought that [Shye] is going to win,” the former dental student, 32, told American Songwriter during a Zoom interview. “And she really thinks I won.”
At the sound of his name, Vasquez dissolved into tears, dropping to his knees onstage. Shye was the first one to give him a congratulatory hug.
“A Celebration of Team Bublé”
Much more than an individual achievement, Vasquez considers his win “a celebration of Team Bublé.”
“It sends a powerful message: No one is going to beat Michael Bublé,” Vasquez told American Songwriter. “He really knows how to be an artist.”
