Alicia Keys’ 1st winning season

MANILA, Philippines - Two-time The Voice coach Alicia Keys scored her first winning season with her champion, 27-year-old Chris Blue, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee. Chris took home the trophy when The Voice Season 12 ended recently.

Chris proudly comes from a family of “extremely talented and gifted human beings,” who are all achievers. His family is into gospel and country music. Throughout Season 12, he sang a wide variety of songs from Percy Sledge, Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder to Bruno Mars and Rihanna.

Chris was the last to get in to the Blind Auditions. He rendered Smokey Robinson’s The Tracks of My Tears and went with Team Alicia, who got him to round up her initial team of 26 talents. The other coaches — including Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton — had their teams filled.

A worship leader in the Tennessee-based United Methodist Church, Chris rendered Tamela Mann’s Take Me To the King in the semi-finals that made him move up to The Voice Season 12 finals.

Chris’ London-based fiancée Stephanie Dunkley, who was earlier diagnosed with bone cancer, supported him all the way. Chris shared the stage with Usher in the finals and they sang Everybody Hurts.

Second placer was Lauren Duski of Team Blake, the original frontrunner in the reality-singing competition. In third place was Aliyah Moulden also of Team Blake and in fourth place was Jesse Larson of Team Adam.

Team Gwen failed to enter any of her talents in the finals, though she performed with her contestant, Hunter Plake, in the finale. Former coach Miley Cyrus also graced the closing and sang her latest single, Malibu.

Meanwhile, erstwhile American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson also performed her latest single Remember Me. It was also announced that Jennifer would be a coach in the coming Season 13 of The Voice.

Other guests who performed were Cee Lo Green with Jesse Larson, Little Big Town with Lauren Duski, Rascal Flatts and Brennley Brown, Zedd, Alessia Cara, Chris Stapleton and Gladys Knight.