‘The Voice’ Winner Huntley Reveals Genuine Thoughts on Defeating Ruby Leigh in Finale

After multiple contestants sang their hearts out for the chance to win The Voice, it came down to two —Huntley and Ruby Leigh. Both contestants were superstars in their own right, but ultimately Huntley took home the win.

His belting rock arena performance of Creed’s “Higher” ended up swaying viewers more than Ruby Leigh’s more subdued emotional cover of The Eagles’ “Desperado.” Still, up to that point, Huntley thought it was anyone’s game. He thought Leigh would take home the prize and was shocked when his name was called.

“Honestly I was so surprised,” Huntley told ET Online. “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.”

Huntley Weighs In on the Impossible

Huntley’s confession probably does little to console fans who thought that Leigh was robbed by the competition. However, it’s very much on brand for the singer. Prior to winning, Huntley expressed his doubts on winning in an interview with Parade.

“Suppose I win tomorrow night?” he said. “It’s a very hard question. Because I think this whole time chasing this dream, I know it’s important to ask for votes and ask to win. But really, I think that we all know that sometimes that doesn’t really matter. No matter how great the artist that comes out as the winner of the show, it really comes down to the hard work after the show.”

Huntley considered actually winning the competition to be a fairly impossible task. He weighed the talent of his competitors against his own. It made it all the more shocking for him when he did win.

“I think if I won the show, it would feel like I did the impossible. Because at this point, it’s the luck of the draw,” Huntley said. “Look at the artists… did you hear the show? That was intense. I’m sitting up here with these really strong ladies that are strong belters and Lila, she has the voice of an angel. Mara, she’s rocking out in such a stage performance. It’s been crazy to see all of us together put on a show. It’s like, ‘Let’s take this thing on tour. Let’s go.’ But I think if I won, I really don’t know. It’s very hard. I think I would be shocked, kind of like how I look every single time I’m up there.”

[Photo by NBC/The Voice]