‘The Voice’: Asher HaVon Is ‘Proud’ to Be the First Openly LGBTQ+ Winner

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Asher HaVon is The Voice for the NBC music competition’s silver season. At Tuesday night’s The Voice Season 25 finale, it was revealed that the talented soul singer won the hearts of America’s at-home voters and took home the title of winner.

HaVon, who was on Reba McEntire‘s team this season (her second), makes history as the first openly LGBTQ+ winner in the show’s history. To win, HaVon had to defeat McEntire’s other contestant Josh Sanders as well as Team John Legend‘s Nathan Chester & Bryan Olesen and Team Dan + Shay’s Karen Waldrup.

On Wednesday, TV Insider caught up with HaVon to find out how it feels to make The Voice history.

Congratulations! How do you feel about being the first openly LGBTQ+ winner of The Voice?

Asher HaVon: I feel proud. I feel so proud. I’m so excited. I feel so honored and blessed to be a part of such a beautiful community.

How has your church been supporting you throughout this season, with your gospel background?

You know what? Surprisingly, they have been right there. They have reshared everything I’ve posted. They have been in the comment section. They have really been there. And so I gotta say thank you to them.

Can you walk back a little bit and just talk about what went into your decision to go with Team Reba this year?

Absolutely. Before I left home to come to my blind audition, I knew in my heart and soul that I was gonna choose Reba. She could have turned around and not said anything, just stared at me the whole time; I was going to choose her. So when she did turn for me, I was like, “Thank You, Jesus.” And so I just knew. And I mean, oh, my God, Chance was so amazing in his bid. He was like, boxing. I really can’t tell you what Reba said. Reba could have told me, “Go eat some of the chicken tenders right now.” “Thank you, okay!” But when it was time, I knew she was my coach.

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What are you hoping will happen with Reba after your win; what will your collaborative experience be with her now? 

You know what? Reba has taught me so much. She has instilled in me in the time that I’ve worked with her so much. So I am looking forward to taking everything that she has taught me and putting it in my own music and maybe becoming a little baby Reba.

Your song choices throughout the season were very cohesive. You stuck with the balladeers: Adele, Whitney Houston, Patti LaBelle, Donna Summer, Beyonce. What do these women mean to you, and why did you decide to bring them into The Voice this year?

Each one of those people that you named have great, big voices. I know I have a big voice, too. I have a way of producing some really nice emotions. I’m a storyteller. So I tried to choose songs that I’m able to tell stories because I do my best work with that. So I just knew each one of them was going to give me an opportunity to really vocally shine on the show.

Which do you think emerged as the strongest and the closest to what you had hoped it would?

I think, “I Will Always Love You.”

I wanted to talk about your short film The Cure.

Oh my god, yeah. That is on pause right now because The Voice happened. I don’t really know when it’ll pick up, hopefully in the future. It was just going to give me an opportunity to like really act. I didn’t know I was going to win The Voice, so it’s like, okay, everything is on hold for The Voice right now. But I feel good about it.

What advice would you give someone who’s considering coming into The Voice?

Be authentic to yourself. Trust your gift. Trust your gut. Reba talked about your gut, my gut a lot. She was like, “What do you feel in your gut?” I was like, “Well, I feel like I should hit that high note.” And she was like, “Then trust that.” So trust your decisions that you make when it comes to music, and you will make it. Believe. Anything is possible.