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Richard's #TheVoiceSA journey

News
23 May 2016
We track the course of our inaugural The Voice South Africa winner!
VoiceSA_RichardJourney

In his Blind Audition, aired on Valentineโ€™s Day, Richard performed Bon Iverโ€™s โ€œSkinny Loveโ€ and had all four coaches pressing their buttons โ€“ and giving him a standing ovation. Kahn turned first but Lira was perplexed.

โ€œReally? Really? You did not think you were that good?โ€ she asked. โ€œIf you sent that to Bon Iver heโ€™d quit,โ€ Kahn quipped, and Karen likened him to Superman. All agreed he was going to the top and many of you on social media had him pegged as the winner from the start!

After Kahn had told Richard that heโ€™d inspired him to want to be a better singer and that heโ€™d teach him how to win this competition, Richard was on #TeamKahn - and on his way!

Richard didnโ€™t have it easy in the Battles: Kahn pitted him against the formidable James Freedom. Bobby likened their take on James Bayโ€™s โ€œHold Back The Riverโ€ to watching tennis, with the back and forth.

In the first live show, Richard got Kahnโ€™s save with his unusual, downbeat take on The Proclaimersโ€™ classic โ€œIโ€™m Gonna Be (500 Miles)โ€. Again he got a standing ovation from all four coaches. Again he was tipped as the winner on social media. Kahn told him he was a โ€œsuperstarโ€ and called it: โ€œIโ€™m gonna put my neck on the line and say you are probably the first winner of The Voice South Africaโ€.

Richardโ€™s song choice in the third live show was again an interesting one: Swedish House Mafiaโ€™s โ€œDonโ€™t You Worry Childโ€, and his performance earned him Kahnโ€™s save. Karen said that while there were a few wobbles, โ€œI love Richard Stirtonโ€.

In our Motherโ€™s Day live show, Richard got Kahnโ€™s final save of the season with his rendition of Mumford & Sonsโ€™ โ€œI Will Waitโ€. Karen admired both his growl and his falsetto, and Kahn reiterated his earlier sentiments: that Richard would win The Voice SA.

Then came the performance that might have sealed the deal. Richardโ€™s version of the Disturbed version of Simon & Garfunkelโ€™s โ€œSounds of Silenceโ€ raced to the top of the iTunes chart by Monday morning, and landed him at number two on 947/KFMโ€™s Top 40. Behind Karen Zoid.

The votes accumulated on the back of this performance lead to Richard being crowned the winner of the very first The Voice South Africa. Congrats to him and a very confident coach Kahn, who called it weeks ago!

JoinThe Voice SA conversation on โ€œThe Voice SAโ€ Facebook page, via Twitter on @VoiceSA and @VoiceSA on Instagram using #TheVoiceSA, #TeamBobby, #TeamLira, #TeamKahn and #TeamKaren hashtags. The Voice South Africa was produced for M-Net by AMPN and sponsored by Dialdirect.