Sophronio Vasquez, who moved from the Philippines to Utica in 2023, won the 26^th season of The Voice television show in December.

He shared some inside details of his time on the show:

Coach Reba McEntire has the best teeth on the show, said Vasquez, a graduate of a dental school in the Philippines. His coach, Michael Bublé, has nice teeth, too, but he’s had cosmetic work done. McEntire has a beautiful, natural smile, he said.

What don’t most people know about Bublé? “I think people don’t know that he is very funny. No, people know about his (being) funny, but he’s very personal,” Vasquez said. “He started as someone that’s like us. He was rejected many times, too, and he just persisted. And he’s really helpful and genuine. And he’s a good stylist. He would tell me, ‘I don’t like your outfit.’”  And Vasquez would then change.

Coach Snoop Dogg, whom Vasquez called his uncle, wasn’t Vasquez’s coach, but he still checked in with Vasquez after every show and offered to fly his mother out from the Philippines. “Snoop Dogg,” Vasquez said, “is one of the most genuine people I ever worked with.”

Coach Gwen Stefani “is always pretty, even without makeup,” Vasquez said. “Yeah, I saw her without makeup and she’s always pretty.”

He calls coach Reba McEntire mom and she likes being called mom. She’s really sweet and even more real than she seems on TV, he said.

Show staff shopped for contestants’ wardrobes. Contestants also had professionals working on their hair and makeup.

Vasquez developed a new personal style that often meant wearing suits or a jacket, even a trench coat, on TV. “I could never imagine myself wearing hats and now it’s become a little bit of my brand,” he said. It was too hot for hats in the Philippines and worrying about style wasn’t a thing either, Vasquez said. “We just had white T-shirt and pants and we’re fine,” he said.

Bublé gave Vasquez two pieces of particularly good advice. The first one was that just because he can do something, doesn’t mean he should, Vasquez said. For example, Vasquez shouldn’t do so many runs while singing even if he can or he shouldn’t choose a song just because he can sing it if the song doesn’t fit him, Vasquez explained. And the second: “Be your own superhero,” Vasquez said. He took that to mean that even superheroes sometimes fail and need help. “Don’t be afraid, just try,” he said. “You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to be the strongest.”

He met Kelly Clarkson and Martha Stewart. Stewart asked where he was from and then said that she loves the Philippines. “She is so nice,” Vasquez said.