In the Spotlight|December 17, 2014 03:13 EST
'The Voice' Season 7 Winner Craig Wayne Boyd Belts ‘Old Rugged Cross’ Compelling Pharrell to Give 'Glory to God' [VIDEOS]
Before singer Craig Wayne Boyd became the latest winner of 'The Voice' on Tuesday night, he amazed the judges and the audience with an emotional rendition of "Old Rugged Cross."
On last week's semi-finals episode, after the Mesquite, Texas native sang the legendary hymn, the celebrity judges were deeply moved by Boyd's epic performance.
"Going through everything that you've gone through to get yourself here, what does it feel like to be at the top of your game and to surrender it to God in front of the whole entire world?," said Pharrell Williams to Boyd.
"I get it, man. To God be the glory,"
Boyd's coach Blake Shelton echoed his fellow 'The Voice' judge regarding the heavenly performance.
"Can you believe he's been hiding under a rock somewhere in Nashville this whole time?" said Shelton. "It's no surprise. There's so many of them there, and he's finally getting a shot, and it's pretty cool."
As a result, Team Blake's Boyd defied the odds and defeated Team Adam's Damien, Matt McAndrew, and Chris Jamison in the finals on Tuesday night.
"Leave it up 2 the Man Upstairs y'all...but also have the best coach, friends, family & #BESTFANSEVER #justsayin @BLAKESHELTON @NBCTHEVOICE," wrote Boyd on Twitter after became the Season 7 Winner of 'The Voice'.
Mesquite's Peace Church minister Mark Ellis revealed that Boyd has been an active member of the Texas church ever since the 35-year-old vocalist graduated high school.
"He was never one of those teenagers that hid his faith," said Ellis, according to the Mesquite News.
"He was very involved with the youth group at church, very faithful and a good young man. [He] wasn't so wrapped up in life outside of church that he didn't have time to get involved."
Now, Boyd revealed that before he auditioned for the NBC singing competition, he was planning on quitting the music business before his drummer convinced him otherwise.
"I remember more than a year ago, a little more than a year ago, sitting in a pickup outside a club after I had played to basically no one, and talking with my drummer and saying, 'Listen, I may have to quit. Because it's not paying my bills, and we're losing my house'," said Boyd in a statement after the Season 7 finale victory.
"I lost my pickup...and then randomly the opportunity [came] up to go audition a few months out for 'The Voice'... I was like, 'You know what? I'm going to go do that.'"