The Voice season 28 delivered some wonderful moments, and the finale was nothing less than we would expect. With Christmas songs and beautiful performances, there was everything to love in the live finale.
For Aiden Ross, it was all about taking home the trophy. He has been crowned The Voice season 28 winner, and now that he’s had some time to decompress, he’s sat down to talk about the experience and reflect back on some of the more challenging moments.
We talked all about having Niall Horan as a coach, the disappointment (but also respect and understanding) of not getting to sing with him for the Christmas number, and things that he’s taken from the experience.
GeekSided: First of all, I want to say congratulations on the win.
Aiden Ross: Thank you so much!
How does it feel being the season 28 winner?
I think that one word I’ve used continuously, even from the blind auditions, to describe this is surreal. This whole experience!
I remember watching season 1 of the show with my family, and now I’m 20, and I’m on the show, and I have won it. To be on the other side of the screen is just surreal.
What was the most challenging part of the entire season?
I sing a lot of ballads and those emotional, hard-hitting songs. One thing I struggled with was, especially in the blind audition, was looking Snoop Dogg dead face when he turned the chair. That was the happiest I’ve ever been, and that emotional contrast was really hard and distracting. I can’t feed off the crowd when I’m singing a sad song, because everyone’s cheering and happy. I can’t feed off that positive energy.
So, I think one thing I had to work on was just staying in the moment and in that place in my head, remaining vulnerable. I don’t want to say in a dark place, because it sounds damaging, but to me, it’s really healing. That was one thing I had to really work on.
Niall had some wonderful advice throughout, but what has been the one piece you’ve taken away from the entire experience?
He’s been great at helping me overall as a writer, an artist, and as a human. Being on a show like this when you have two minutes to essentially show every party of yourself and all your big notes, you want to do all of them. You want it all out there. Being 20 and really wanting this show bad, I would go into the first rehearsals and do all of it.
It was impressive from a vocal standpoint, but the emotion wasn’t there. So, what he really challenged me to do was find the heartbeat of the song. That’s the general rule whenever you’re listening to the song. What’s the heartbeat like? What grounds you? Then you can do your rounds and big notes that stem off the heartbeat. That’s helped me with writing my own music and with performing other music.
And music is one of those things we all connect to in different ways.
Absolutely, and that was a massive game-changer. And on that note, just letting the song speak for itself. Come the finale, I was super excited. I was getting in the clouds a little bit, but Niall grounded me. He told me, ‘You’ve got to treat this like any other round. Of course, it’s a big deal, but you can’t let it get to your head.’
Sometimes, I would get a little too serious. Fortunately, with him coming from a show, he’s able to shed some light on that. He said, ‘You’re only going to be on the show once. Love what you’re doing.’ It was a big weight off my shoulders when performing, because rather than focusing on winning, I was really focused on enjoying the moment. I think that’s ultimately got me to where I am now.
I was going to ask if his experience on a similar show helped you, because he had that very specific experience.
I think it helped in the sense of the enjoyment aspect and being in a hotel room with radically talented and radically humble individuals. He reminded me that this will never be the same. There will be reunions and stuff, but you’ll never be able to fully recreate this season and this moment, so he just challenged me to take a step back and enjoy it, which is hard for me. I have really big aspirations, and I want to go, go, go, go, go, right? But there is something to be said for taking in a moment and processing it.
That’s what I love about these interviews, because I lack a bit of self-reflection. So, these questions are really great questions, and I should be able to answer, not just because I’m being asked them, but because it’s insightful about myself.
It’s been two days since the live finale. You’re allowed some time to decompress before self-reflection. I felt bad for you because you didn’t get to sing with Niall [author note: he was sick and on doctor-ordered voice rest], but you did get to sing with one of his former winners. What was that like for you?
It was definitely a big bummer. I love Niall, and he would have loved to sing with me if he could. I can attest that he was as sick as a dog. I remember filming with him the first day, and he was a trooper. You could tell that he was not 100% and just pushing through, which says a lot about his character.
But Gina is just incredibly talented. She won the dang show, so if it wasn’t Niall, I’m glad it was her. I do hope that I get a chance to sing some Christmas songs with Niall at some point.
From what I’ve seen of Niall, he stays connected with you guys, so I’m sure you will. As my last question, how would you sum up the entire experience in three words or phrases?
Oh my gosh! Summer camp. Trauma bonding. Radical talent.
And a lot of fun. That’s four phrases. I couldn’t do it!
Summer camp and fun go together. All good!
This interview has been edited for clarify and length.
The Voice season 28 is now available to relive in full on Peacock. Get ready for The Voice season 29 in 2026.