Asher HaVon has found himself the winner of this season of The Voice, but his road to victory wasn’t easy. Reba McEntire, his coach, played in integral role in getting Asher HaVon across the finish line — and into the winning position!

Asher’s inspiring journey starts all the way back in Selma, Alabama, where he’s from. As an open member of the LGBTQ+ community, Asher faced a lot of difficulty in his hometown. But Reba provided a warm welcome when he landed on The Voice.

“It meant everything, growing up in a culture where people just don’t make you feel safe,” Asher HaVon shared about his relationship with Reba.

Asher’s Difficult Journey

But competing on The Voice wasn’t a walk in the park. While he blew the audience away with his incredible renditions of iconic songs like “Set Fire to the Rain,” Asher was dealing with a lot of inner turmoil.

He didn’t feel like he was supposed to be on The Voice (though, clearly, he was born to be one the stage)!

“I tried to leave a couple times! When I got here, I thought I wasn’t supposed to be here,” Asher explained. Every week, Asher HaVon conquered his fears with Reba rooting him on from the judge’s seat.

In his first Instagram post after he got on the show, he wrote, “Every time I hit the stage it feels like my very first time. Forget the butterflies I feel the whole ZOO in my stomach!!”

Asher’s Big Win

We couldn’t be more excited for Asher’s achievements on and off the stage. As the first openly LGBTQ+ winner of The Voice, Asher HaVon and coach Reba McEntire are proving that you don’t have to fit inside a box to be a star.