The Voice fans annoyed by obvious detail in 2024 finale: 'Underwhelming'

Following weeks of show-stopping auditions, battles, knockouts and showdowns, the winner of The Voice Australia 2024 was decided during Sunday night’s episode. The final four contestants competing for the coveted title and $100,000 prize money were Jaedyn Randell on Team Kate, Reuben De Melo on Team LeAnn, Annie Jones on Team Adam, and Skÿe on Team Guy.

Each singer performed a duet with their coach and a solo number as the public sent in their votes via text before Reuben was announced as this year’s champion. The FIFO worker and father-of-three tells Yahoo Lifestyle he never imagined competing on the reality show let alone winning, and he feels like a “king”.

“All these people that have come together, that have supported me, they finally got the outcome that they hoped for and it feels like I'm their champion,” he shares. “I know that with these sort of things, that all legacies will eventually die. But right now, I'm living in this timeless moment and in this bubble that I'm really, really grateful for.”

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Fans were thrilled with the result, however, many people took to social media to complain about one rather obvious detail in the finale. Viewers were annoyed that the finale had been pre-recorded so they didn’t get to see Reuben’s genuine reaction.

How is The Voice finale pre-recorded?

While the early seasons of The Voice featured live performances and finales, the singing competition has been completely pre-recorded in recent years. Typically, four alternate endings are taped with each of the finalists winning the show and giving an acceptance speech, and then only one result airs on TV after the public has cast their vote.

“Wish it was actually live so we didn’t have pre-recorded fake reactions,” one fan complained after Sunday night’s episode, while another added, “Can they bring back live results reactions?! His reaction seemed so underwhelming”.

“I can’t get my head around pre-recording the result. It takes the emotion out of the result. Reuben seemed totally underwhelmed. His family seemed so happy and tearful but we know that it was acting so it takes the joy out of watching it,” a third remarked, followed by someone else who said, “This is so ridiculous”.

Meanwhile, a friend of Reuben’s took to the comments on The Voice’s Instagram video to reveal that he actually had a much bigger reaction when watching the finale on TV.

“Reuben is one of my great friends. We had a watch party and trust me, he was not underwhelmed when we all heard the news!” they wrote. “I’m sure he’ll share on his socials. It was a great moment and couldn’t have been won by someone more deserving!”

Reuben addresses 'underwhelming' reaction

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle following his win, Reuben admits ‘faking’ his reaction in the finale was “probably one of the hardest things” he’s ever had to do.

“If you saw the show, most of my reactions kind of look underwhelming. I process my emotions a bit differently, like I'll go back home after that day and just bawl my eyes out. I kind of express it a bit better when I'm home in my own space,” he details.

“I never thought I'd even make it to the grand final, to be honest, so I had to channel that and use that as the actual win because it did feel like a win. I did the best I could, but I think the most genuine response that would have been received would have been last night watching myself.”

Reuben reveals he held a screening of the finale with his family and friends at a local bar and felt “pretty anxious” waiting for the episode to end.

“Once Sonia [Kruger] read out my name, the whole place just erupted,” he recalls. “I couldn’t believe how many people were just so invested in me and so supportive for nothing in return. It was really beautiful.”

The Voice winner details 'weird' experience filming multiple endings

Bella Taylor Smith, who won the show in 2021, told Yahoo Lifestyle following her finale that it was a “weird” experience having to record so many different versions in one day.

“The night of the grand final was full-on busy because not only did we have to film the four alternate endings, but also the four singles performed at the end,” she detailed. “And then that night we also did our duets with the coaches and our solo performances as well. And then you had to clean up the confetti at the end and do all of that stuff.”

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Bella also shared that while she had to act excited on the show - something that viewers called out for being “underwhelming” and “fake” - she held back her true emotions until the winner was officially announced.

“As much as I would have liked to really believe in that moment that I'd won, you want to protect yourself and your emotions and have that moment of celebration when it's really truly yours,” she said. “I had a big sob when I found out on Sunday and I knew that that was going to be my genuine reaction, but I just couldn't cry on cue.”

Several reality shows in Australia usually pre-record multiple finales, including Australian Survivor, MasterChef and Drag Race Down Under. The reason why The Voice implemented this technique is likely because it’s easier to film the series in one filming block while the international coaches are still in Australia.

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