18-year-old Ruti Olajugbagbe has been crowned the winner of The Voice UK 2018 as she upset favourite to win Danel Mangena in Saturday’s live final.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be so soon, I didn’t expect to get the final. I didn’t expect the coaches to turn,” an emotional Ruti said following her win.
Saturday’s final saw the final four artists Ruti, Danel, Belle Voci, and Lauren Bannon all compete for viewer votes in order to be named the champion. All four would perform twice and ended the night by singing a duet with their coaches.
Following the performances and votes from viewers by phone and the app, host Emma Willis returned to deliver the results of who made the top two. It was revealed Ruti and Donel had gotten the most votes and would perform one final time to gain viewer support.
Finally, Emma revealed Ruti had the most votes and had won The Voice. As part of her win, she gets a recording contract with Polydor and her first single, a cover of ‘Dreams’ by The Cranberries, is available to stream now.
The result is likely a surprise to many who had Danel as their favourite to win from the very start. However, the 16-year-old was grateful following his slim defeat.
“Thank you so much. I’ve loved every second of it,” he told Emma. “To have come runner-up, it’s amazing. Working with will.i.am has been my highlight. I’m so happy, as happy as Ruti.”
The win was the second win for Coach Sir Tom Jones.
The Voice UK returns to ITV in 2019.
