Tate Stevens was in a bit of a daze after triumphing as the winner of FOX’s The X Factor Thursday night.
The 37-year-old country singer — the oldest winner in the franchise’s history — admitted after the show, “This is crazy. I’m so excited. It hasn’t sunk in yet at all.”
When he woke up the morning of the finale, he told Celebuzz he wasn’t at all sure he had it in the bag. “I didn’t know. I felt OK, but everybody’s talented. This whole season’s been full of talented, talented people. So I wasn’t sure. I felt good, but it was like, ah, you never know.”
Stevens credits his steadfast fans and mentor L.A. Reid for putting him over the top, edging out 13-year-old Carly Rose Sonenclar (mentored by Britney Spears) and Simon Cowell’s group Fifth Harmony.
“LA believed in me and the country music fans are so loyal and they’re really the reason why I was still here and that I won. They just get behind artists and they love country music so much. I’m just blessed to be the vessel for them to vote for,” Stevens laughed.
The final week of the competition has taken its toll on Stevens, if not on his voice. After stopping mid-interview to ask for a Kleenex to blow his nose, Stevens admitted, “I’ve had a cold all week. I’ve been taking all kinds of medications to ward it off.”
Not that that could dim the glow of winning. “I’m blessed,” the humble winner said.
“I can’t say enough about country music fans for keeping me here and I’m excited about what’s coming next,” he added. “This show has been amazing. I owe Simon and everybody involved in this show so very much for changing my life.”
As good as Hollywood has been to him, he can’t wait to go home.
“When we get home — I go home tomorrow — I’m climbin’ into my bed that I haven’t seen in over two and a half months and I’m gonna have me and my wife and my kids and dogs in the bed and we’re not moving for a couple of days,” he grinned.
After the holidays, he won’t waste any time getting to work on his first album, “I’ll be in the recording studio in Nashville on January 2. So, we’re starting right away. I’ve written some songs and I’m gonna continue to write when we get there and we’ll see what happens.”
Watch part of our interview with Stevens above.
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– Sharon Knolle
