Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Alicia Keys and Chris Blue celebrate his win on The Voice Tuesday night. (NBC Photo)

Chris Blue almost didn’t audition for Season 12 of The Voice.

During a post-victory press conference Tuesday night, he said he was heading to the auditions in Atlanta when “fear began to overtake me.”

“So I called my fiancee at the time, and she talked me into it, to just go and try it,” Chris recalled. “I was like, ‘Hey, if they (Voice producers) don’t like me, I just won’t tell anyone I came down here to try out for The Voice.”

Well, that certainly didn’t happen.

Instead, Chris, used his experience from performing in a family band, his immense vocal talent and his dance skills to waltz to the Season 12 Voice title.

He was declared something of a surprise winner Tuesday night at the end of a two-hour season finale. Lauren Duski, Aliyah Moulden and Jesse Larson finished second, third and fourth, respectively.

Chris also provided one of the night’s vocal highlights, his performance of “Everybody Hurts” with Usher. The song was dedicated to those affected by the terror attack at the Ariana Grande show in Manchester, England, earlier this week.

Alicia Keys and Chris Blue after he was announced winner of Season 12 of The Voice Tuesday night. (NBC Photo)

“Chris just has a really uncanny ability — no matter how nervous he is — somehow he gets out on stage and delivers, in a way that’s not only emotional but powerful.”

“He’s come from a caterpillar to a butterfly,” she added. ” He is going to grow into one of the greats. I really believe it.”

As for Chris, he gave equal credit for the victory to his coach, saying “she’s been beyond phenomenal.”

Because Chris took the stage so late in the blind audition process, Alicia was the only coach to turn around for him. That was just fine for the 26-year-old from Knoxville.

“She was my first choice,” he said. “I wanted to work with someone I felt really cared about me, and I feel like she cares about Chris.”

He pointed to the original he sang this week as an example of their working relationship. They were debating between two songs, “Money On You,” and another tune likely to wind up on his debut album.

Alicia preferred the other song; Chris felt a connection to “Money On You.”

“That’s big props to Alicia,” Chris said. “She could have said, ‘I’m the coach, and we’re gonna do what I want to do. She didn’t do that. She trusted the trust that we have between each other.”

“Thanks for having a good instinct,” Alicia joked. “If you didn’t have good instinct, I wouldn’t be able to do that.”

How good?

“Money On You” wound up landing at number three on iTunes Tuesday. It was number one on the R&B / Soul singles chart, where Chris swept the top three spots.

And Chris said the song is reflective of the type of music he’d like on his post-show debut album.

“Stuff that makes you feel good and enjoy life,” he said. “That’s what coach has been preaching to me this whole season: ‘Make sure you produce something you feel. Because if you don’t feel it, no one else will.'”