Published: 9:41 PM PST, December 19, 2023
The Voice has crowned its season 24 champion, and Huntley couldn’t be happier!
“Honestly I was so surprised,” the rocker and father of two told ET’s Deidre Behar following his big win. “Ruby [Leigh] is so talented and I think that she is a force to reckon with, so the fact that it was us two standing up there, it was right… She’s super talented and when my name got called, I genuinely couldn’t believe it.”
The 33-year-old Virginia native was the last man standing in The Voice’s Top 5 for his season, and he was effusive about the support that he’s gotten throughout the season from his coach, Niall Horan — who became a back-to-back winner on Tuesday in just his second season as a coach on the singing competition.
“Whenever I feel like I’m too busy or complaining about this process, I kind of just think back and I’m like, this dude’s literally flying around the world and still messaging me back on my emails,” he raved. “It’s pretty cool — I respect it very, very much.”
As for his plans post-show, Huntley said that he’s looking forward to some downtime over the holidays before he continues his rise to music stardom.
“I think that my main concern is to take a step back and just breathe and just really take everything in,” he shared. “This experience has taken half a year. I’ve spent six months away from my kids — my son is speaking in full sentences now. It’s insane.”
“But this has all been so worthwhile,” Huntley continued. “I just want my career. I’m so hungry for this… John [Legend] said he can see me singing in arenas around the world and that’s something I’m very hungry for. Y’all are not getting rid of me!”
As for his coach, Niall said that he’s happy to have put all he’s got into fostering great relationships with his team members, and supporting their musical dreams.
“When I took this job, I told myself that no matter how busy I was in my day job, I was going to commit one hundred percent,” he shared. “I’ve been on a show like this, and I know what it’s like to have a strong mentor… Maybe thats what the secret sauce is, I don’t know.”
In the new year, the former One Direction singer is looking forward to kicking off his worldwide tour in support of his 2023 album, The Show, and told fans that he’s excited for them to see what he has in store.
“I’ll be playing arenas and huge amphitheaters all over the world, and with that comes me trying to make the biggest show and the show I’ve always wanted to make,” he noted. “I’m excited to now take a rest for a few weeks, get home, chill out enjoy the Christmas, and get back to the grind. Here we go again — can’t wait!”
The Voice returns for season 25 in February 2024.
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