He’s probably the most controversial contestant ever seen on the show, but last night voice looper Sam Perry took the crown and was announced as the winner of The Voice Australia 2018.
The Perth 28 year-old was the favourite to win with 57 per cent of Sportsbet punters prediciting him to take home the prize and beat runner up Bella Paige also from Team Kelly, Team Boy George’s Sheldon Riley who came in third and Team Joe’s Aydan Calafiore who was awarded fourth place.
Sam took to Instagram to celebrate and thank his supporters captioning his photo, “Thankyou so much! I’m absolutely speechless! Did that! I just need to process this for a second..”
Sam performed twice during the finale, first with his mentor and judge, Kelly Rowland in a duet of Michael Jackson’s They Don’t Care About Us and secondly with his trademark decks with a mash-up of Fatboy Slim’s Praise You and Kanye West’s Stronger. And boy did the audience praise him.
However this winner has faced a lot of controversy on the show, starting when he was labelled by Boy George after Sam’s knockout performance.
“This is a very controversial knockout because you know, I’m going to go straight for Sam. You’re a little bit of a red sock in a white wash because this is called The Voice and you’re not really a singer.”
Even after his win, many weren’t happy with the decision.
But Kelly spoke out and admired him for his strength amidst all of the surrounding drama.
“What I am most proud of with Sam is the fact that he’s been able to stay focused among all the controversy,” Kelly said during the Sunday night finale.
“You have been strong, you’ve been bullet proof and an unsuspected hero.”
Before he was announced as the winner, Sam thanked the former Destiny’s Child member and made it clear that they were a team.
“I am so proud to be standing up with her on this stage. You know, this thing is huge. Thank you to The Voice in general for letting me be here.”
“You really ran with what I was doing. You didn’t stop me, you helped me grow it. That is something that we’re not used to. Obviously Kelly, we did that.”
In a previous chat with TV WEEK, Sam confessed that winning wasn’t his end goal on the show.
“I’m not too bothered whether I win or not. I wanted the opportunity to throw myself out there and see if people like it. I just want to do my thing and show people what I can do.”
Sam’s won a recording contract with Universal Records and $100,000 cash. And unlike past winners, he actually wrote his own track, Trust Myself, instead of being given a single.
Treat yourself to some new decks Sam, you’ve earned it!
