Five artists competed to win season 26 of The Voice, but only one walked away with the victory.
Sofronio Vasquez was crowned the champion during the Tuesday, December 10, finale. After Jeremy Beloate, Danny Joseph and Syndey Sterlace were revealed as the bottom three, Vasquez was announced as the winner with Shye coming in as runner up. Both of the final two finalists hailed from coach Michael Bublé’s team, marking his first win on the NBC series.
“My Filipino brother, you are the hope of so many people. … It has been such an unbelievable journey to be here with you,” Bublé told Vasquez before host Carson Daly announced him as the winner.
The live episode also featured performances by former coaches Kelly Clarkson and Dan + Shay as well as Snoop Dogg and Sting, Riley Green and Ella Langley, Tears for Fears, Myles Smith and more.
Ahead of the two-night finale, the first part of which aired on Monday, December 9, the top five artists were announced, with each of the coaches — Reba McEntire, Snoop, Gwen Stefani and Bublé — seeing contestants from their team advance. Joseph represented Team Reba, Beloate competed on behalf of Team Snoop and Sterlace kept Team Gwen’s hopes alive. Meanwhile, Team Bublé had two members make it to the finale: Vasquez and Shye.
During the December 3 semifinals episode, viewers voted to keep Sofronio, Sydney, Jeremy and Shye in the competition. Danny then performed The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” in the Wildcard Instant Save round, beating out Team Snoop’s Christina Eagle, Team Reba’s Adam Bohanan and Team Gwen’s Jan Dan to advance to the finale.
Season 26 marked the arrival of new coaches Snoop, 53, and Bublé, 49. McEntire, 69, returned after making her coaching debut during season 24 in 2023, while Stefani, 55, has appeared on a total of eight seasons since 2014.
Stefani and McEntire both have one previous win under their belts, with Carter Rubin on season 19 in 2020 and Asher HaVon on season 25 in May, respectively. Rubin and HaVon each made history with their victories, as Rubin became the youngest male winner ever at age 15 and HaVon was the first openly LGBTQ contestant to be named the show’s champion.
While season 26 has just ended, fans already know that The Voice is in for some major changes during season 27, which is set to premiere in February 2025. Bublé is the only coach from this season who will return for the next. Past viewer favorites John Legend and Adam Levine will be back, though. Legend, 45, previously appeared on nine seasons from 2019 to 2024; Levine, 45, was an original judge who exited the show in 2019 after 16 seasons. Kelsea Ballerini will round out the lineup of coaches as she makes her debut in the role.