Will a singer from Central New York win "The Voice" tonight?
Sofronio Vasquez, of Utica, is one of five finalists competing for the season 26 crown when "The Voice" finale airs Tuesday, Dec. 10. Vasquez performed Sia's "Unstoppable" and "The Greatest Showman" standout "A Million Dreams" on Monday's live episode, impressing the judges and viewers alike.
"You're big-time," Snoop Dogg told Vasquez.
"I need to borrow Reba's Kleenex," his coach Michael Bublé added. "I love you and I'm proud of you."
Vasquez is one of two Team Bublé contestants who made it to the season 26 finale, along with Shye. They're competing with Jeremy Beloate (Team Snoop), Danny Joseph (Team Reba), and Sydney Sterlace (Team Gwen) and will find out who is the winner tonight.
Vasquez and the rest of the top 5 will perform again on tonight's "The Voice" two-hour finale starting at 8 p.m. on NBC. The voting results will be revealed sometime between 9 and 10 p.m.
Vasquez was the first singer to get a four-chair turn from "The Voice" celebrity judges Snoop Dogg, Michael Bublé, Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire on the season 26 premiere in September. He chose Team Bublé after his impressive performance of Mary J. Blige's "I'm Goin' Down" (originally performed by Rose Royce).
"This is what this show was named after. It was named for you: The Voice," Bublé said at the time.
Vasquez, 31, said he grew up poor in the Philippines and saw music as a chance to get his family out of poverty. He previously competed in a Filipino singing competition while working in dentistry, but he quickly had to focus on being the family breadwinner when his father died of kidney failure in 2018. He now lives in Utica, where he works as a dental assistant.
His soulful voice has continued to wow fans each week, including with renditions of "If I Can Dream" (Elvis Presley), "Crying" (Roy Orbison) and "The Power of Love" (Celine Dion). Vasquez also got to perform The Police's "Every Breath You Take" with Sting on last week's episode.
"I'm just blessed to be here, and I'm so excited that I was able to represent Utica, and of course, the Mohawk Valley and my country, the Philippines, on the finale for the first time," Vasquez told WKTV.
"It's such a blessing, and I can't wait to just be home and hopefully bring home the trophy, and just tell everyone that we made it."
He follows another Mohawk Valley resident, Tom Nitti, who was on Team Reba during season 24 of "The Voice" last year. The New Hartford singer, who became a New York State Trooper after being awarded the Purple Heart for his military service in Afghanistan, left the show to focus on his family and continues to perform today, including at the New York State Fair this summer.