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A Perth father and FIFO worker who’s stolen the hearts of Australia has walked away victorious at the grand final of The Voice on Sunday night.
Reuben De Melo faced off against contestants Annie Jones, Jaedyn Randall and SKYE.
The 32-year-old was beside himself when he was announced as the winner.
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“I never thought I’d get this far,” he said. “This is crazy.”
The soulful performer’s coach, LeAnn Rimes, said she was “so proud” of the tremendous result.
“You deserve every bit of this moment, and I’m so honoured that I could be on this journey with you. You are incredible,” she said.
De Melo also walked away $100,000 richer and with a money-can’t-buy music masterclass and industry recording development package.
Right from the start, De Melo captivated audiences with his soulful voice and demeanour, impressing superstar coaches Adam Lambert, Kate-Miller Heidke, Guy Sebastian and his coach Rimes.
Rimes knew that De Melo had a gift and was keen to develop his talent.
The Voice Season 13 winner Reuben De Melo with coach LeAnn Rimes Credit: Supplied“I knew as soon as he opened his mouth, and I heard him sing,” she said.
“There was just so much feeling there.
“There was no way I was letting any of the other coaches get to him before I did.”
In his grand final winning performance, De Melo sang House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals and left all four judges in awe.
“I can’t stop smiling. You just gave it your all. That was just insane,” Rimes said of De Melo, who then joined him on stage to sing a duet of Fix You by Coldplay.
Ahead of the grand final, the father-of-three said he was “honoured to represent WA” on the reality singing show.
“I personally didn’t think I would get this far, considering all the talent that’s up there and just coming out of the mine doing FIFO. . . no one from Perth ever kind of makes it like that,” De Melo said.
The pop-folk singer has been “blown away” by the overwhelming support he has received from the local community.
“To have a whole community get behind you, all of WA sort of get behind you, all the boys, all the people I work with, and people online get behind you. . . saying this is what I need to do, you’ve always been called to do this, and hearing that sort of stuff is quite nice,” De Melo said.
“I feel honoured to represent WA because of that.”
Rimes knew that De Melo had a gift and was keen to develop his talent. Credit: The Voice
A FIFO worker from Perth has captured hearts across Western Australia, winning The Voice grand final on Sunday night. Credit: The Voice
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