'Voice' Winner Asher HaVon Reveals Dreams of Heading to Broadway
Reba McEntire, Asher HaVon
Asher HaVon had not sung in public for 2-1/2 years prior to his Blind Audition for Season 25 of The Voice. He was singing in church, but that was about it. So, he dug deep and signed on for a chance to audition for coaches John Legend, Reba McEntire, Chance the Rapper and Dan + Shay.
“I just believed that my gift deserved a chance,” the 31-year-old from Selma, Ala., exclusively tells Parade the day after his win. “Even though I had given up on myself— I believe myself and my gift are two different things—so, for whatever it was worth, I wanted to give my gift a chance. I was willing to move out of the way and do that and I'm so glad I did.”
All Asher hoped for from his Blind Audition was one chair to turn, instead but he got three—everyone but John. And he chose Reba as his coach because he felt a connection to her when their eyes met. And lo and behold if it wasn’t the right choice because Reba’s coaching took him all the way to the win.
Photo by: Griffin Nagel/NBC
“To win The Voice, to me, means that I am right where I belong in time and space,” he says. “It means that this is exactly what I'm supposed to be doing and everything that used to come to fight that has lost all its power because I'm here.”
Prior to his participation on The Voice, Asher never saw himself as a recording artist. But part of his win is a recording contract with Republic Records, and Asher is interested in doing what he does best: his showstopping ballads. But that’s not all.
“I definitely want to release some beautiful ballads, but I am so well-rounded, and my voice has so much to give, so maybe I’ll jump back in that Donna Summer pocket and pump out some disco dance music,” he says with way more confidence than he had pre-Voice. “I don’t want to make the folks cry too bad with all these ballads. We want to dance and smile, too, so we're going to see. Maybe an array of a beautiful rainbow of music.”
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Even with the record deal, Asher’s longtime dream is to appear on Broadway. If American Idol winner Nick Fradiani can star in the Neil Diamond musical, surely there’s a role on the Great White Way for Asher and his beautiful voice.
“After this show, something that is really deep in my heart and I’ve been talking about it forever, I would love to be a Broadway performer,” he says. “First, I’ll put out a few big ballads that will transcend time and space [he jokes], but I do want to go to Broadway. That is the big dream after The Voice.”
Asher says that while Hamilton is closed, there’s still The Lion King or Aladdin. “I would even be the donkey in Frozen.”
During our Zoom chat, Asher also talked about how he hopes to get a cheeseburger and milkshake to celebrate, what it was like working with Reba, the support he also got from John and Chance, losing his braids and what’s next.
Photo by: Griffin Nagel/NBC
How are you going to celebrate?
I slept and I gave myself the gift of rest because this show took it away. There was no sleep for the singers. You know what? I haven't had a cheeseburger and a milkshake yet. No dairy have I had since being on this show because it creates mucus and you can't sing. So, I think later, I'll treat myself to that and that will be my celebration.
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What was it like working with Reba and do you think you will stay in touch?
Yes, absolutely. Reba became like my second mother on this show. Of course, the cameras were always rolling but we always found our time to embrace each other. She would always do these little things, like she would give me a thumbs up, or she would give [okay sign], or she would be in her chair shaking like, ‘I'm hoping that everything goes well,’ so I definitely think we'll still be in contact for sure.
How much did she have to do with your song selection because closing the show Monday night with Whitney Houston was such a cloud crowd pleaser?
Reba was very involved. The producer would call me and say, “We're sending a list over to Reba now. I’ll let you know what she says or what she thinks." I would suggest a song and if she didn't like it, she would say, “You know, maybe we should think about something else.” So, she was very, very involved in every song selection.
It wasn’t just Reba that was your support but both John and Chance as well, coaches from another team. That has to be special when coaches from other teams support you and say you have the best vocals. Then you closed the show with Whitney. It doesn’t get much better than that.
To hear John say that, I mean about his dad, that's a pretty private thing. I've never heard him mention his dad on this show, so for him to say that, I feel like he meant every word and it was intentional. He wanted me to know that and then Chance, Chance was so passionate, it made me feel really good honestly.
Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC
When you were doing the Blinds, the Battles and the Knockouts, you had your braids or long, straight hair. But for the Live Shows, you lost them. You talked about having a song that you wanted to get in character for it, so you removed the braids. Any chance that you're going to put them back?
There's a really high chance. I've been enjoying seeing my face. I was the guy that everybody forgot what he looked like because sometimes my hair could just cover a lot. But I’m a storyteller and I use my entire body, which is why I'm so excited to go to Broadway because I get to be in character all the time, so I'm sure that the hair will come out. I have learned from being on this show to embrace all of me.
Now that you've won and had some sleep, what do you hope to do next?
I'm ready to work. All the time I spent not believing and losing hope that was rest. But now that I have made it to this time and this point, I'm ready to run. I have ground to make up. There's people that need to hear things. There's people that need to be encouraged, so me and my makeup bag are going to be running real fast.
