Join or Sign In
Sign in to customize your TV listings
By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.
Sundance Head maintains that he really was shocked that he won
Despite being a consistently thrilling singer and performer on Season 11 ofThe Voice, newly crowned winner Sundance Head maintains that yes, he was truly shocked to win against the mega-talented Billy Gilman.
"Other contestants have more social media followers than me," the humble crooner told TVGuide.com in an interview. "I thought it would come down to that. I knew I had performances that swung the pendulum for me. I just prayed to the Lord and asked that either way, win or lose, I'd respect the results of the path he'd have me walk."
Add shows to your watchlist now
Sundance's intimacy with gospel -- as well as the blues, soul, rock and R&B that informed his take on country -- was truly a thing to marvel at during the competition, and he says we should expect that all-encompassing take on his album that'll be released on Republic Records as part of his prize.
He's been called the "founder of soul country" on social media but he's careful to give props to the originators. "Really," he said, "Ray Charles was doing that before anybody. That's always been my inspiration. I love Motown. I love blues, I love a lot of the music played through the 'Chitlin Circuit'," he said, referring to the network of African-American venues that hosted black performers during segregation.
Today, his influences are still wide; the fan of hip-hop (he cites Lil Wayne and Jay-Z in particular as rappers who've mastered word play and their voices as instruments) names Beyonce as one of the people he'd love to work with on his album. ("We're both from Houston," he noted, adding what we all know to be true: anything Beyonce joins is automatically going to be awesome.) Sheryl Crow, Alan Jackson, Chris Stapleton and his wife Morgane also stand out as dream collaborators. But the album is a ways off; he's yet to meet with executives and plans to take some time off and go into the woods with a guitar to write before the next phase of his career gets underway.