Sofronio Vasquez of Team Michael Buble has won the popular reality singing contest, The Voice USA Season 26, making him the first Filipino and Asian to win the competition.

"Thank you so much for the love, support, and prayers. I truly appreciate everyone," said Sofronio in a short video recently.

During the finale, Sofronio captured the hearts of fans with his performances of Elvis Presley's "If I Can Dream" and Sia's "Unstoppable." He also sang a duet with Sting for their rendition of the No. 1 hit "Every Breath You Take." 

Shye, 17, also of Team Buble, of New York, was the runner up.

Sofronio, 31, from Mindanao, edged out other Top 5 finalists: Danny Joseph (Team Reba McEntire), Jeremy Beloate (Team Snoop Dogg), and Sydney Sterlace (Team Gwen Stefani) in the finale. 

Apart from "The Voice" title, Sofronio won a US$100,000 prize and a record deal. 

"Sofronio Vasquez is recognized for his powerful voice and rich, velvety tone," according to his website.

It added: "He is a versatile and dynamic singer capable of performing a wide range of songs, including pop, R&B, rock, standards, and jazz. He can even rap!"

Sofronio's NBC bio said he grew up in the Philippines with virtually nothing, including no bed or indoor plumbing.

In those challenging years, Sofronio found happiness through music, which he said “was always there to bring his family joy.

While Sofronio's family didn't have much money when he was a child, he always had music, NBC reported.

He credits his father for instilling a love of singing and even calls his father his first coach. 

But music wasn't Sofroni's first career pursuit. He studied to be a dentist and began practicing, but the tragic loss of her father inspired him to keep pursuing his dream of singing on the world's stage, and he began to pursue music again in tribute to his father.

That pursuit led to several viral cover songs on social media and, eventually, to the stage of The Voice.

In 2019, Sofronio placed third in the Tawag ng Tanghalan portion of the noontime program "It's Showtime."

His viral cover of “That’s What Friends Are For” garnered over nine million views on Facebook (Facebook Link), and his cover of “ Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” had over one million views on TikTok.

In 2020, Sofronio released "Bakit Hindi Ko Sinabi," an original single under Old School Records (a sub-label of ABS-CBN Music). In 2022, he released the original songs “Bililhon” and “Mahalaga” under Normal Use Records.

Instant four-chair turn

Sofronio hits The Voice Season 26 with a bang, delivering what NBC called a "Dazzling Voice Gets an INSTANT Four-Chair Turn" performance. 

Belting out Mary J. Blige's "I'm Going Down," he had Snoop, Michael, Reba, and Gwen spinning their chairs faster than you can say "wow."

This quick four-chair turner left the coaches fighting over him. Snoop felt the vibe, saying, "This is soul. Your soul. Your spirit." 

Gwen called it a "Grammy performance," Michael told Sofronio, "This show was named after you. You are the voice." 

Finally, the Queen of Country Music, Reba, said his voice "sounds like butter" and "touched my heart."

Within 24 hours, it hit nearly two million views on Facebook, 600K views on YouTube, and 650K plays on TikTok.

Sofronio now calls Utica, New York, his home, where he works as a dental assistant.