Since June, we’ve been following the fortunes of Equinox singer Johnny Manuel as he competed on The Voice Australia. Now the series came to its conclusion with the Grand Finale. Sadly Johnny didn’t win the series, but he put everything into his final performance.
Johnny — coached by Guy Sebastian — was up against the three other finalists, each selected by their coach. The other finalists were Stellar Perry (coached by Delta Goodrem), bookies favouriteSiala Robson (Boy George) and Guy Sebastian’s younger brother Chris Sebastian (Kelly Rowland).
For his Grand Finale performance, Johnny stuck with what he does best. He performed Céline Dion’s epic ballad “My Heart Will Go On”. The song let Johnny show off both the power of his voice but also convey the emotion of the song.
While the winner of the show was selected by live public vote, the show itself was pre-recorded due to Covid-19 restrictions. The Voice Australia took a cue from RuPaul’s Drag Race and had filmed four possible endings, with each of the four finalists having their moment of glory.
In the end, the contest was won by Chris Sebastian, the younger brother of Guy Sebastian. Chris hadn’t been the big favourite to win the semi-final, but his dramatic performance of Linkin Park’s “Numb” had impressed viewers. Chris had previously competed on season one of The Voice in 2012, before being eliminated in the live shows. He follows in Guy’s footsteps after his older brother won Australian Idol back in 2003.
Johnny Manuel’s new single “Say It”
All four finalists had winners’ single ready to be released but — unlike in previous years — they were all able to release the songs.
Johnny’s debut Australian single is the uplifting anthem “Say It”. The song is about expressing yourself in matters of love. He observes that “only silence is what’s keeping us apart” and urges his love interest to speak out, with the key chorus lyric being “We could lose it all today if we never learn to say”.
The song has been released as part of an EP along with his other performances from The Voice.
Johnny Manuel previously competed on the 2017 series of America’s Got Talent. There he made it to the semi-finals before being eliminated. In 2018, he became part of the Bulgarian-American group Equinox, who represented Bulgaria at Eurovision. Their entry “Bones” placed 14th in the grand final.
What do you think? Could Johnny go on to represent Australia at Eurovision? Or could Chris Sebastian do what his brother didn’t manage and win? Tell us your thoughts below!
Read more Australia Eurovision news here
Aaah South Africans would’ve made a huge noise at the beginning of the contest if any family member of any competition was a judge, crew member or anyone directly connected to the show. Maahn I would not even wanted to be in the audience…It is unethical to begin with and anyone with common sense knows that…When we look at how Kelly and Guy were at each other’s throats at the beginning you would’ve already wondered about her reaction when Guy performed his new song on the show and right there one could realize that the two at each other’s throats… Read more »
I’m not going to even dare to read the whole thing, having a family member…A FAMILY MEMBER on the judging panel is absolutely absurd and should not be allowed. Have that person come on the show after the family member (Guy Sebastian in this case) leaves as a judge. Johnny won in my book!
Also has anyone noticed you cannot watch Johnny’s final performance on YouTube bcz it’s not shown. Why is each of the other contestants final performance available on YouTube but not Johnnys ?? The whole thing stinks of fraud and deceit and nepotism ! Johnny was the star of the show and there was miles between him and 2nd place ! Sebastian was just an average also ran at best and there were other far more worthy contestants than him that should have been in final !
And just like the rest of our voice winners he will fade off into oblivion never to be heard from again haha
Johnny Manuel was The Real WINNER of THE VOICE AUSTRALIA 2020! week in, week out! it was Johnny who lead the field, with a Vocal that no one can beat! Some Major Record Company must sign Johnny and release his First Album, would be great for Christmas! As of The Voice, sorry but it has lost a lot of credibility when a brother of a Judge can participate, never seen this in any TV Show before! We have Our Winner JOHNNY MANUEL! Proud of You Johnny!
The voice is rigged and Johnny was by far the greatest finals voice performance in the history of the show and should have won !!! He is in a different league to the others and Chris S is a very average 4th place at best ! Cannot believe Johnny didn’t win it….the show is rigged for whatever scurrilous commercial reason !! Johnny will go on to have Int’l stardom and Chris will be forgotten like all the other voice winners before him…Johnny you were cheated and everyone knows it !
I hate how they don’t tell us who came 2nd, 3rd or 4th!!!
Arghhhh
I personally thought it was fixed…Johnny was amazing and in my opinion , chris was no where near as good…..and Johnny hands down should have won …..and I even put siala , before chris…..I wont be watching it any more…I was gutted
In any competition of this nature, having a family member on the judging panel should automatically prevent you from entering.
I think it was always going to be between the two boys. Johnny is definitely the more talented but Chris did what talent show winners tend to do. He got better as the show went on and showed more variety. It’s always hard to win these things when your best performance is in the audition round, as was the case with Johnny.
I thought the winner announcement was a bit weak. Now that I know they filmed the four possible results, it makes sense! That must’ve been weird.
Wait, isn’t that biased? Loved Johnny in the show, though. <3
I know in the States, game shows and talent competition shows usually have rules preventing family members of network employees or show personnel from taking part. (I would know; there’s at least one talent competition show I’d be barred from competing in because my dad works for a theme park owned by the same company that owns the network that kind of show airs on, and thus my dad is considered a “network employee”, even though the park he works at usually is not involved in television productions. I will not be naming the park or the network for privacy… Read more »
I’m from Brazil and I love Johnny Manuel! He’s fantastic, reminds me of Luther Vandross and Donny Hathaway! He really deserved to win The Voice Au! I hope he gets a recording contract because his voice is sublime!
So we’re talking about how an American singer, who represented Bulgaria, almost won The Voice of Australia. Eurovision, ladies and gentlemen.
Instead it was the Brother of one of The Judges! never seen before on TV!
I understand people are concern with the fact that Chris Sebastian’s brother is one of the judges but also keep in mind that the public voting and not the judges were the ones that picked the winner. The winner only won by about 0,5% so the margin was rather close. Also as much as I would wish The Voice to actually be about the voice of a singer, it really isn’t. You need good song choices , vocals, and popularity to actually win The Voice. Many people knew Chris would win the second he made it through from the Semi-finals.… Read more »
Nearly every TV vote their are questions about the result, how calls may get through or not, also we do not know the voting figures!
I was honestly upset about the Chris win over Johhny but what @Andreu says makes so much sense. Johhny is not a local obviously and Chris does have a good voice with a choise like this, I would have also voted for one of our own.
I surely can’t be the only person who finds it suspicious that the brother of a coach on the show won the whole thing.
It’s a little iffy, to be sure.