Team Usher's Josh Kaufman was declared the winner of "The Voice" Season 6 with Jake Worthington coming in a close second and Christina Grimmie a shocking third.
"The Voice" Season 6 came to an end Tuesday night with Josh Kaufman from Team Usher being declared the winner. Kaufman created history on the show by becoming the first "Stolen" artist to win the competition. He started his journey on Team Adam (Levine) but was stolen by Usher in the first Battle Rounds. Every performance after that, Levine expressed regret for his decision.
Kaufman was the dark horse of the competition. Unlike the other two finalists (Grimmie and Worthington), there was no hype about him and his stint on the show started on a very silent note. After Usher's "steal", the 38-year-old blue-eyed soul crooner slowly transformed into one of the frontrunners of the show. Many say that he was the only other contestant (apart from Team Blake's Sisaundra Lewis) to have been consistent with his singing throughout the show.
Kaufman's win comes despite a controversial iTunes technical glitch that led producers of the show to announce that they will not count any of the downloads during this week's post-show. Hence, the results were based only on votes received over the week. The announcement was surrounded by its fair share of controversies, with Grimmie fans feeling that the glitch hampered the YouTube sensation's chances of winning, after her "Can't Help Falling in Love" charted at No. 4. Worthing too landed two songs in the iTunes top 10 this week. The glitch made it impossible to find Kaufman's "Set Fire to the Rain" on iTunes. Despite this, the number still charted at No. 20.
This is not Kaufman's first attempt at Stardom. According to his Wikipedia page, he auditioned for the first season of "The X Factor" in 1993 but wasn't selected. He also went on to survive two rounds on the American talent show "Star Search" before being eliminated. At that time he was just 16.
Kaufman's win also broke the shared five-season winning streak by original coaches Levine and Blake Shelton. Coach Shakira was left a mere spectator yet again in this year's finals. Kaufman will soon join castmates Christina and Jake, Season 1's Dia Frampton, Season 5's top three finalists, and fan-selected fellow Season 6 contestants Jake Barker and Kristen Merlin on this summer's Voice Live tour. And then, it will be time for him to record his own album.
As for Worthington, he's happy to have landed second place after being rejected during his Blind Auditions in "The Voice" Season 5.
"My wife and I are very proud of him, of what he has accomplished, in his everyday life. It's more than music," Bubba Worthington, Jake's father said, according to Chron. "This show has made Jake believe in himself, and it has shown his brother that he too can go after whatever he wants to be. Simple and to the point - don't hold your kids back from chasing whatever it may be. The good Lord writes our story, and it is up to us to follow it."
Levine also had Grimmie's back, offering her a signing with his label, irrespective of whether she won or not. Grimmie has been one of this season's most popular contestants. Right from her Blind Audition, this 20-year-old singer from New Jersey has been portrayed as a potential winner. Owing to her large fanbase, early predictions also had it that she may be the winner.
"The Voice" Season 7 will not see Shakira and Usher returning as coaches. Instead, singers Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams will replace them on the panel.
