Australia has voted former back-up singer and mum-of-two Tarryn Stokes as winner of The Voice 2023 on Seven. She was up against fellow Grand Finalists Charlie Pittman, Ezra Williams and Ethan Beckton.
The 40-year-old from Melbourne was shocked after host Sonia Kruger announced the result, saying that said: “It feels amazing, going from The Blinds to being in the Grand Finale and somehow believing that I can do this, it’s just thanks to Rita for believing in me.”
Coach Rita Ora replied: “Are you kidding me? You did this. You did this!”
With a final solo performance of Celine Dion’s All By Myself, Guy Sebastian called Tarryn’s voice “just perfection.”
In “a moment in history” for Tarryn, Rita joined her on stage for a duet of Tina Turner’s Simply The Best.
Alongside The Voice crown, Tarryn won $100,000 prize money and a recording contract with Universal Music Australia.
After the announcement, Tarryn performed her new single Nobody as her family – husband Paul and kids Archie, 4, and Quinn, 2 – watched on.
After a surprise visit from her family during mentoring, Tarryn said: “My kids are everything to me, being away from them for so long has been the hardest thing.”
Sharing her struggles with self-doubt and fear that it was too late to step into the spotlight after taking a break to have children, Tarryn said that “Maybe I’m starting to see what people have always seen.”
In response, Rita said “It is a dream seeing you flourish after everything you have sacrificed.”
Tarryn’s win secures back-to-back titles for her coach Rita.
In last year’s grand finale, an average of 751,000 viewers tuned in to the episode before spiking to 779,000 as Lachie Gill was crowned the winner. The 24-year-old Victorian also won $100,000 prize money and a recording contract with Universal Music Australia.
The Voice is an ITV Studios Australia production for the Seven Network.