Houston Crooner Sundance Head Takes Top Prize on 'The Voice'

He came close in 2007, but Sundance Head finally has his Reality show crown: The 37-year-old emerged victorious on Tuesday night to close the 11th season of The Voice.

Head, who lives in Porter, Texas, a town with a population of about 30,000 located near Spring, was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, and is no stranger to success — this week he topped the iTunes chart with “Darlin’ Don’t Go” — but his shock and tears at being named Voice champion seemed genuine.

He took the microphone after the news sunk in and gave a performance of his hit, which he said he wrote for his wife, Misty Head.

“The first time I tried something like this, I wasn’t good at it,” Head recounted at the post-victory press conference, speaking about his time on American Idol in 2007. “It took a lot of life to figure out who I was and a beautiful woman.”

Earlier in the competition, Head had kind words for his Voice coach, Blake Shelton. “I just want to thank you for being such a great guy and being so sweet to me, man,” he said. “I know you don’t have to do that. You do this for a job, you know, but you really are such a genuine person, man. I thank the Lord that he put you in my life.”

“This show was made for artists like Sundance,” Shelton said on Monday night’s chapter of the show. “It's literally like somebody reached back into time and found this classic iconic vocalist that went undiscovered and plopped him down on the stage in front of us. It's absolutely unbelievable."

Sundance was awarded a contract with Universal Music Group, plus a prize of $100,000, and said that he wants his music to have a beneficial effect on the lives of others.

“I want to have a positive message and sing music that my 2-year-old could listen to, or my grandma,” he said. “I don’t want to sing anything that is offensive. I want to be a positive person in the world.”

Head's father, Roy Head, had a hit in 1965 with "Treat Her Right."

— Photo of Sundance Head courtesy Tyler Golden/NBC