{"id":6900,"date":"2025-12-22T11:55:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-22T11:55:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=6900"},"modified":"2025-12-22T11:55:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-22T11:55:20","slug":"aiden-ross-on-winning-the-voice-picking-niall-over-snoop-and-the-lizzy-mcalpine-duet-he-wants-next-he-opened-the-voice-season-28-and-ended-it-as-the-winner-a-full-circle-moment-h","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=6900","title":{"rendered":"Aiden Ross on winning \u2018The Voice,\u2019 picking Niall over Snoop, and the Lizzy McAlpine duet he wants next. He opened THE VOICE SEASON 28 and ended it as the WINNER, a full-circle moment he still calls surreal. From an ADELE Blind Audition to hearing his name announced on finale night, his journey unfolded exactly where it began. The decision that shaped everything came when all four chairs turned and the pressure peaked. Choosing NIALL HORAN over SNOOP DOGG wasn\u2019t easy, but it changed the entire trajectory of the season \u2014 a move he confidently says was guided by instinct, not strategy. Fans are now eager to know what comes next, and Ross is already manifesting a dream duet with Lizzy McAlpine, hoping to merge his powerhouse vocals with her intimate storytelling style. This is only the beginning, and he knows it. More below \ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Season 28 champion reflects on his full-circle journey from opening the Blinds to taking the crown, why Niall Horan was ultimately the right fit, and how he\u2019s manifesting a future duet with Lizzy McAlpine.<\/div>\n
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\"Niall<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Aiden Ross<\/strong>\u00a0still can\u2019t quite wrap his head around it. The 20-year-old Texas A&M student \u2014 and the very first artist we met in Season 28 when he opened the Blinds with\u00a0Adele<\/strong>\u2019s \u201cLove in the Dark\u201d \u2014 ended the season exactly where he started: center stage, this time hearing\u00a0Carson Daly<\/strong>\u00a0announce him as the winner. The new champ, now\u00a0Niall Horan<\/strong>\u2019s third straight victor, says the moment transported him straight back to childhood.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen Carson Daly said my name, I got an immediate flashback,\u201d Ross recalls. \u201cI was six when Season 1 came out, watching with my family in our living room with my little chair turned around \u2026 to be on the other side of the screen, and to have won the thing \u2014 I keep saying the word\u00a0surreal<\/em>, but that\u2019s just what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Niall<\/p>\n

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Ross says opening and closing the season was \u201cunexpected but an incredible opportunity,\u201d and now that the whirlwind is over, he\u2019s looking ahead to both new music and what comes next in his studies. But first, he walked us through his journey \u2014 from picking that first Adele song to choosing Horan, to balancing engineering classes with live shows \u2014 in a candid conversation hours after his win.\u00a0Watch the full video interview above.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Gold Derby: Going back to the beginning, how much pressure did you put on yourself for that Blind Audition? Why choose \u201cLove in the Dark\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aiden Ross:<\/strong>\u00a0The lyrics to \u2018Love in the Dark\u2019 really spoke to me \u2026 Adele\u2019s obviously \u2014 if you can pull off an Adele song, you should do the Adele song. I knew I wanted to do an Adele song, but I picked that one because it was one of the stronger ones I had done. The show accepted it and chose that for me upon my request, and here we are.<\/p>\n

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Throughout the season you gravitated toward female-led songs and reinterpreting them. Why does that approach work for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have roughly two minutes per round to show everything we can do. \u2026 I\u2019m ripping these songs apart and putting them back together, asking,\u00a0How can I show my artistry without ruining the song?<\/em>\u00a0A lot of times people change songs too much.<\/p>\n

The logic behind picking female songs is just who I am and how I\u2019ve grown up. I have a natural different interpretation of these songs. Like when I did \u2018when the party\u2019s over\u2019 in Billie Eilish\u2019s original key \u2014 it sits a lot higher in my register, so it has a totally different dramatic feel. Mine\u2019s a lot more growly and big \u2026 almost theater-esque.<\/p>\n

You got a four-chair turn. Did you walk in thinking Niall, or did someone else tempt you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I went in thinking Niall, but the four chairs turned around, Snoop brought out his chain, and I lost my mind for a minute. He really wanted me and fought really hard. For a second I started to lean toward Snoop. But at the end of the day, it was Niall through and through \u2026 it was like big brother\u2013little brother vibes. He makes the type of music I\u2019d want to make someday. Evidently the right decision.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s undefeated \u2014 3-for-3. What was the best advice he gave you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

On a show like this, it\u2019s easy to get in the clouds. \u2026 I\u2019d be quick to throw on all these runs and big notes, but you can lose sight of the interpretation of the song. Niall helped me find the heartbeat of the song. Letting the runs and big notes stem from what the lyrics are saying, rather than just wanting to show off \u2014 that helped me as a writer too.<\/p>\n

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\"Who<\/p>\n

You\u2019re still in college. How did you juggle school, and does winning change your plans?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This past semester I wasn\u2019t a full-time student. I was taking an online class and it was very doable. I\u2019ll do as much school as I can while being 100 percent honest that I\u2019m giving everything I can to music. \u2026 I owe it to myself and to the people who voted for me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll probably take a couple online classes next semester. Either way, I\u2019ll be involved with A&M \u2014 I\u2019m an Aggie through my blood.<\/p>\n

Your a cappella group HardChord DynaMix has been a big part of your life. What do they think about all of this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My freshman year was pretty hard \u2014 I didn\u2019t have a ton of friends until I joined HardChord. They were the most loving, accepting people \u2026 they became my best friends. There\u2019s something special about singing with another person \u2014 the vulnerability of it. I\u2019m going to try my best to be at AcaPalooza, maybe do a special performance.<\/p>\n

You have a new song coming out. What can you tease?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is coming out very soon. If I had to ballpark it, within the month.<\/p>\n

\"Niall<\/p>\n

A hint? Are we laughing, dancing, crying?<\/strong><\/p>\n

You might do all of it. I like to take the person on a journey \u2026 it has a very live, raw feel. There\u2019s something honest about the song I think people will relate to. It\u2019s pretty mainstream, really enjoyable. I think it captures who I am and my artistry perfectly.<\/p>\n

Last question \u2014 dream duet or collaboration?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lizzy McAlpine<\/strong>. One hundred percent. She\u2019s one of my biggest inspirations \u2014 the way she writes and the way she carries herself. She\u2019s the best.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Season 28 champion reflects on his full-circle journey from opening the Blinds to taking the crown, why Niall Horan was ultimately the right fit, and how he\u2019s… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6901,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6900","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6900"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6900\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6902,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6900\/revisions\/6902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}