After Ross was named the winner of season 28 of The Voice, the 20-year-old contestant and his coach opened up to PEOPLE about the feelings they experienced as they waited in anticipation for the announcement.<\/p>\n
“I was just excited for him. It was a win or lose, it’s an exciting future for this guy,” Horan, 32, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “There’s no doubt about it, but I’m glad that America has seen the light and did the right thing.”<\/p>\n
He continues, “Ralph [Edwards] and Aiden were our front runners for sure… I’m glad America agreed.”<\/p>\n
Further reflecting on the moment, Horan says it was “scary” waiting for host Carson Daly<\/a> to announce the name \u2014 because he “really, really, really wanted” Ross to be the winner.<\/p>\n For Ross, it was special sharing that moment with Edwards \u2014 who ended up placing second.<\/p>\n “Ralph and I had a pretty special moment,” he recalls. “I was like time stopped for a second, like we had a little break to talk.”<\/p>\n He continues, “It was a really special moment, we talked about the times we’ve had together outside of the show while being out here in L.A… growing together and just becoming great friends.”<\/p>\n When asked about the moment he knew Ross was special, Horan says it was “four seconds into his blind audition,” where he sang Adele<\/a>‘s “Love in the Dark.”<\/p>\n “We see a lot of blind auditions in the week that we do, and some of them stand out and Aiden was just arguably the best of the week, and definitely the best I’ve seen since I’ve been on the show,” he says.<\/p>\n In the finale, Ross was up against fellow\u00a0Team Niall<\/a>\u00a0contestants DEK of Hearts,\u00a0Team Reba<\/a>‘s Aubrey Nicole,\u00a0Team Snoop<\/a>‘s Edwards and\u00a0Team Bubl\u00e9<\/a>‘s Jazz McKenzie and Max Chambers.<\/p>\n Trae Patton\/NBC<\/p>\n Aiden Ross and Niall Horan<\/p>\n Ross’ victory also made Horan \u2014 who previously won on seasons 23 and 24 \u2014 an undefeated coach.<\/p>\n Before his name was announced, Horan told Ross on stage, “You’re a really down-to-earth, lovely guy who\u2019s gifted. I wish you the best, bud.”<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Ross \u2014 who’s a Texas A&M student \u2014 thanked his coach for teaching him to “love what I’m doing and be glad I’m doing it.”<\/p>\n The Voice\u00a0season 28 finale aired on Tuesday, Dec. 16 on NBC.<\/p>\n![\"Trae](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/92897e350f698fab6c43012d3ac2dc51.jpeg\"\/)
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