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The Voice Australia winner Bella Taylor Smith crowned after epic finale
Bella Taylor Smith has been crowned the winner of The Voice Australia for 2021 after beating out fellow grand finalists Arlo Sim, Mick Harrington, and G-Nation.
As the winner of The Voice Bella takes home a prize of $100,000 and a recording contract with Universal Music Australia.
After receiving the life-changing news from host Sonia Kruger, an emotional Bella said: “I really can’t believe it. I’m so thankful. I can’t wait to see what incredible things are ahead for me. I’m really grateful for you [coach Guy], for everyone who voted and for my beautiful family who I love."
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Bella wowed the audience, coaches and viewers with both of her performances during the grand finale, but shared a very special moment with her coach Guy Sebastian on stage after they sung an incredible duet of The Prayer by Andrea Bocelli.
After the pair had finishing singing together, Guy asked Bella whether she would join him as a support act on his upcoming arena tour.
"Singing with you, I'm just trying not to cry," he said.
Bella had all four judges turn within a minute of her blind audition at the beginning of the competition and the judges were equally blown away in the knockout round.
"I think, because you’re so pure inside, when you sing people can’t help but be drawn to this thing that feels so beautiful, it’s unbelievable,” her mentor Guy told her after she sang.
She also had Rita Ora and Jessica Mauboy in tears after her emotional performance of Christina Aguilera’s The Voice Within, which she explained felt as though she was singing directly to her little sisters who she had to step up and help raise. And stunned with her take on R.E.M.’s mega-hit Everybody Hurts in the semi-finals.
Bella had also been a front runner on the show since the beginning and betting agency Sportsbet last week had the 23-year-old in the top spot, with her odds sitting at 1.60.
To celebrate her win, Bella then took to the stage to perform her new single Higher.
After the superstar coaches Jess Mauboy, Guy Sebastian, Rita Ora and Keith Urban had the difficult task of choosing their grand finalists, in the end it was up to to the Australian public to vote for who they wanted to be crowned the winner.
Through all of the jaw-dropping Blind Auditions, controversial Cuts, intense Knockouts and very dramatic semi-finals, these are the other three acts that had made it through to the grand final:
Arlo Sim - Team Keith
Arlo Sims wowed all four judges after his initial blind audition but chose to go with Keith Urban as he felt they "had a moment" during the song.
And the 19-year-old's performance of Billie Eilish's idontwannabeyouanymore in the semi final earned him his spot in the top 4, with rival coach Guy Sebastian even saying he expected Arlo to "blow up" as an artist.
"Some other artists have to keep looking for their truth and their purity in their soul, you have that, and your job is going to be protecting it," his mentor Keith said.
G-Nat!on - Team Rita Ora
G-Nat!on's Taylah (18), Isla (17), Mateja (16), Rylee (17), Alessia (17) and Emma (18) blew the roof off the house during their Blind Auditions, earning them their spot on Rita Ora's team.
And though they have faced some criticism from viewers of the show, saying it wasn't a fair playing field to pit a group against a solo singer, their rendition of Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings in the semi saw them take one of the coveted top 4 spots.
"I guess the purpose of going on that show was really to spread our message across to Australia, and even though we received a lot of criticism, I think that on the other hand of that there are a lot of disadvantages that come with being a group," 17-year-old Rylee told TV Week about some of the backlash.
The girl group first got together at performing arts school in Adelaide three years ago, and had gained plenty of fans after their very first performance on the competition.
"WOW!! I am seriously impressed with these girls G-NAT!ON is the nation to be in," one fan wrote.
"The world's ready for a new girl group and I think AUS just found them," was another excited comment.
Mick Harrington - Team Jess Mauboy
When Mick Harrington, 32, first auditioned for The Voice, he not only got all four judges turning around together but also stunned everyone when he proposed to his girlfriend Bec on stage after his performance.
The gardener and dad of Bella, four, and 18-month-old Katie from country Victoria was put through to the grand finale by Jess who continues to encourage him to believe in himself.
“Watching you on stage, you still feel like a fish out of water here… honestly you do belong there. I want to tell you that. You’re not just Mick the lawnmower, you could be Mick the megastar,” his mentor Jess said after he made it to the semis.
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