The Voice Australia journey may have come to an end for the final four, but for 2024 winner Reuben De Melo, his career in the music industry has only just begun.
Speaking to Yahoo! Lifestyle following the series finale, Reuben shared that with a recording development package now in his hands, his top priority is to pursue a full-time career in the music industry “rather than having to always worry about finances.”
“[I’m] just planning to release music with others, collaborate with other artists, and just release music. That’ll be the next step.”
While his standout vocal performances on the series may have blown audiences away, Reuben also credits his connection with all-star coach LeAnn Rimes as a factor in his success on the show.
“Even though she’s an absolute star in this industry, she’s come down to my level and just really guided me through and empathised with me the whole time.” he shared, adding, “She went above and beyond to get me over the line, and I owe a lot of stuff to her.”
Despite not initially knowing who the Can’t Fight the Moonlight singer was, Reuben shared that her coaching connection “turned out to be a godsend,” and unlike many of the former contestants, Reuben and LeAnn are still in regular contact.
“She’s always keeping in touch, always involved in family, and I think I’d probably call her a friend now,” Reuben said, adding that the singer “even woke up at 2:00 am to watch the finale.”
“Unfortunately, my phone had died just before the winner was announced, so we were trying to get in touch. It was so bad, but I messaged her on my wife’s phone and told her that we brought it home.”
Outside the music industry, the father of three added that while music is his ultimate goal, his prize money will largely be spent on setting his family up for the future.
“I’ve got a couple of Telstra bills that I’ve been avoiding, so I’ll pay those off,” he quipped, continuing to share that “$100,000 is probably going to help us out with a lot of repayments, like our mortgage, and a bit of work around the house as well.”
“They might be small things, but they are freeing things – things that will allow me to just completely be creative and maybe plan a tour or something like that.”