Shelton bet against 'Voice' champ, but for good reason

LOS ANGELES — It's a good thing Sundance Head and Blake Shelton are singers, not gamblers.

Head, crowned Season 11 champ of NBC's The Voice on Tuesday, and Shelton, his coach, both bet against the 37-year-old soul-country singer from Houston in the four-person finals.

"I thought for sure (third-place finisher) Wé (McDonald) was going to win. I was pulling for her the whole time," said Head, who joined Shelton for a press conference after the two-hour finale. "I voted for her (Monday) night 10 times."

Shelton took it a step further, losing a $1,000 bet over whether Head would win to friend and rival coach Adam Levine. However, Shelton only wagered against his singer out of superstition. "I thought if I bet on you I would hex you," he explained to Head.

That said, it will be money well spent, since Head's victory gave Shelton his fifth Voice coaching win and a triumph over Levine, who had two singers, fourth-place finisher Josh Gallagher and runner-up Billy Gilman, in this week's finale episodes.

"This is what makes this show worth it for me," Shelton said, relishing the victory. "I suffer as a coach a lot because I get attached to these artists and I see them go away. It's hard … But to see the sadness on Adam's face, that's the thing that puts the smile back on my face."  

For Head, a top 16 finisher on American Idol in 2007, the second TV singing competition was the charm. 

"The first time that I tried something like this, I wasn't very good at it. It took a lot of life to figure out who I was as a singer and artist," he said, as his wife and children stood nearby.

As he looks forward to his music career, Head hopes to "touch people's lives for the better."

"I just want to have a positive message and sing music my two-year-old or my grandma could listen to. I don't want to sing anything that's offensive," he said. 

As for what his next album will sound like, Head likes what he calls the soul-country genre, which includes the original song he performed on the show, Darlin' Don't Go, but he's open to many others, including Cajun, bluegrass and the blues. 

"I know what I want it to sound like. I know how to make it sound that way. As far as what people call it when they hear it, I'm just going to have to leave that up for your interpretation and hopefully you can receive my music well in your heart and it can make a difference," he said. "The most important thing to me is to create music that when you listen to it, you know it's Sundance Head.".

Although singers have enjoyed professional success after competing on The Voice, Shelton challenged Universal Music Group, whose label will produce Head's album, to help the singer achieve breakout stardom.

"I'm sitting next to a guy who has won over America's hearts. He's so popular," the coach said. "I hope that we can all come together. This is the guy that I think can break the mold and become a star out of this show. … This guy deserves to be a star." 

The Voice opens Season 12 on Feb. 27, with Shelton, Levine and Alicia Keys returning from this season's coaching panel. Gwen Stefani, who has coached in earlier seasons, will join them.