WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (970 WFLA) - Fans of their hometown hero crowded into bars and restaurants with anticipation for the finale of the NBC show "The Voice."
And they weren't disappointed.
Chris Blue, 26, beat out three other finalists in prime time Tuesday night to win the $100,000 prize and a recording contract.
“He’s been working for this since before he was even born. Once you sit in his presence, you feel the anointing, the power. Watching him open his mouth, I tell him ‘God is speaking through you,'” Blue's aunt Faye Allen told News Channel 8.
“God is giving him that platform. I see that he’s trying to reach people from all angles – hip hop, R&B, gospel. I play his songs over and over. I never get tired of watching and listening to him,” said Allen.
Blue dedicated his version of the 1993 R.E.M. song "Everybody Hurts" to the victims of the Manchester bombing.
Blue was coached by R&B superstar Alicia Keys.
He currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, and said he'll used the money to pay for his wedding to his fiance in London this summer.
photo credit: WFLA-TV