Indeed, Sofronio Vasquez wasn’t lying when he said, ‘A million dreams is all it’s gonna take / A million dreams for the world we’re gonna make,’ during his chilling and emotional performance of “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman in The Voice USA Finale. He went on to win Season 26 of the singing competition, making world-shattering history as the first Asian and first Filipino to bring home the title.
“I cannot explain honestly. I cannot put into words how amazing, how overwhelming, how great it is that you see people on the comments tell you that you’re so great. Because, you know what? As cliche as it sounds, I’m just a dreamer, and I always will be a dreamer,” Vasquez told Vogue Philippines in an exclusive interview.
Since the blind auditions, Vasquez has already made a remarkable impression with Mary J. Blige’s ‘I’m Going Down’ performance. NBC described his voice as “dazzling” as he got an “instant four-chair turn” from Snoop Dogg, Michael Bublé, Reba McEntire, and Gwen Stefani. His audition video on The Voice’s YouTube channel has garnered over 3 million views, further cementing his popularity in the bustling streets of New York City.
A Michael Bublé fan, Vasquez’s fanboy moment escalated from merely covering Bublé’s ‘Feeling Good’ on It’s Showtime’s Tawag ng Tanghalan to being part of Bublé’s team in The Voice and experiencing the Canadian singer’s coaching skills.
“As a coach, he’s very personal with the song choices, the arrangements, especially with this finale song set. I have full trust in Michael’s choices for me. He said, ‘If I thought something was wrong with his song choice, I wouldn’t pick this for you. Because this is finale,’” Vasquez shared with Vogue.
Taking pride in his powerful and versatile voice, Vasquez performed Céline Dion’s “The Power of Love” with Aliyah Khaylyn during The Voice Battles, Dusty Springfield’s “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” during the Knockouts, Roy Orbison’s “Crying” during the Playoffs, and Elvis Presley’s “If I Can Dream” during the Semifinals. He also performed Sia’s “Unstoppable” during the Finale before blowing everyone’s minds with his “A Million Dreams” performance.
Like every dreamer, Vasquez had a long way to reaching his million dreams. In 2019, he joined It’s Showtime’s Tawag ng Tanghalan and ranked third in the Tawag ng Tanghalan All-Star Grand Resbak. Years prior, he had tried other singing competitions in the country including The Voice Philippines, but he recalled not having a chair turned for him, exactly ten years ago.
“Sumali na ako sa The Voice Philippines walang lumingon sa akin and ten years later, napasali ako sa The Voice America and the naging four chair (turner) ako. Dati pinapangarap ko lang sana kahit di kami lingunan, kahit 0.1 second lang makita kami sa TV,” he said in an interview with ABS-CBN.
Intending to further his dental studies in America, Vasquez found himself with a greater goal instead—a dream he is now living. “I found out that there was a program offered for international dentists in America, so I moved here. I was already working as a dental assistant, and my professor told me, you’re always singing. And randomly, I just happened to see a post: virtual auditions for The Voice, so I signed up. Now, I’m here. Everything was falling into place,” he told Vogue.
Aside from a $100,000 cash prize, Vasquez won a record deal with Universal Music Group. With this, old and new fans can look forward to hearing more from him apart from his live performances, viral covers of “That’s What Friends Are For” and “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You”, and original songs namely “Bakit Hindi Ko Sinabi” (2020), “Bililhon” (2022), and “Mahalaga” (2022).
Relive Vasquez’s performances at The Voice USA:
- Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Going Down” | The Voice Blind Auditions
- Céline Dion’s The Power of Love | The Voice Battles
- Dusty Springfield’s “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” | The Voice Knockouts
- Roy Orbison’s “Crying” | The Voice Playoffs
- “If I Can Dream” | The Voice Lives
- Sia’s “Unstoppable” | The Voice Finale
- “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman | The Voice Finale
You can also binge-watch his performances at Tawag ng Tanghalan All-Star Grand Resbak and see how he has always been ‘The Voice’:
TNT Team Battles
- Freddie Aguilar’s “Bulag, Pipi, at Bingi”
- Rico J. Puno’s “The Way We Were”
- Michael Bublé’s “Feeling Good”
- Shirley Bassey’s “I Who Have Nothing”
- Tom Jones’ “It’s A Man’s Man’s Man’s World”
- Lionel Richie’s “Hello”
TNT Four-way Battle
- Styx’s “Babe”
TNT Grand Finals
- Rico J. Puno’s “Lupa”
- James Ingram’s “Just Once”
- Journey’s “Open Arms”
- AfterImage’s “Next in Line”
- My Grown Up Christmas List
