The Voice US season 26 winner Sofronio Vasquez recounted his experience of being mentored by Michael Bublé in the reality singing competition.

In an interview with Vice Ganda on her latest YouTube vlog, Sofronio shared that Michael was very hands-on as a mentor.

“Totoo ‘yung mentorship niya talagang offscreen, off TV, ite-text [ka] niya: ‘How do you feel about the rehearsals? I heard your rehearsals. I watched your video,” he recalled.

“[He would ask], do you like your clothes? Do you want to change? Are you comfortable in the allegro?’ He was very kind. I felt like he was really family-oriented every time we shot, he would bring his kids.”

When asked why he chose Michael as his mentor during the blind auditions, Sofronio revealed that the singer said something that moved him most.

“Michael said something specific that really touched my heart, he said, ‘You will never understand how Filipino my heart is,’ because he even said, ‘My godfather, my friend Martin Nievera,’ he was truly a Filipino,” he said.

In the same interview, when asked if it had already sunk in that he had won The Voice, Sofronio said: “He’s sunk in [now] because when I was in America and won, I felt the love, but I couldn’t enjoy it because I felt like I wanted to see someone who was my blood, that’s my nature. You can just read it.”

He went on: “So when I was here, I came back to where I started, [at] Showtime and then I was given a chance by other shows, I met the president, so it was really exciting, I guess the recognition is very real.”

Sofronio arrived in the Philippines on January 5 following his big win on The Voice in December.

“I just want to jump from the plane. I’m very excited to be with the people who root for me. I get to be back and just as excited about what’s going to happen,” he said in a previous interview with ABS-CBN News upon his arrival.

In addition to spending time with his family, he has a series of guest appearances and live performances scheduled, including a show in Cebu for the Sinulog Festival.