Learn about ‘The Voice’ winner

(PEOPLE.com) — After shedding tears of fun as a first winner of NBC’s “The Voice” Wednesday night, Javier Colon hugged horde Carson Daly, manager Adam Levine, associate finalists Dia Frampton, Beverly McClellan and Vicci Martinez, and then, finally, his mother and dual daughters.

“My oldest, who’s 3½, said, ‘Daddy! Daddy! We saw we win on TV!’” Colon told reporters proudly. “They were in a holding area and she said, ‘We saw we win on TV, Daddy!’ ‘Yeah, baby, Daddy won.’”

Colon landed a recording agreement with Universal Republic Records, $100,000 and a starring mark on a initial “Voice” tour, though remained humble, observant he had approaching Team Blake‘s “amazing” Frampton to win.

“I have a bent to always keep my expectations low,” he admitted. “It’s been my healthy protection, we guess.”

As Colon told PEOPLE on a eve of a finale, “I’ve been during this a prolonged time, and it wears on we when we keep removing doors close in your face, and we keep removing told we are not good adequate to get another record understanding and they confirm not to, quote-unquote, rubbish their time on you. So this (opportunity) is amazing.”

Here are a few some-more things to know about Colon:

1. He found his voice

Colon started in a business singing lead for despondency rope EmCQ, afterwards found his stone roots with a Derek Trucks Band. He went solo on Capitol Records in 2003, scoring a Billboard Hot 100 singular called “Crazy,” though his follow-up efforts weren’t as successful. Now, he says, Universal Republic Records “understand who we am … an dogmatic guy. (And) it’s going to be awesome.”

2. He seized his final chance

Back during home in Stratford, Connecticut, Colon expelled an EP though “in January, we had been deserted from nonetheless another record label, and we unequivocally suspicion things were going to work out. we suspicion that competence have been a dagger” to his song career, Colon said.

With a immature family to support, “It was time to put adult or pierce on. I’ve got a grade in song education, and we would adore to have been means to go into a propagandize complement and learn kids and enthuse them as we was desirous as a child to follow music.”

3. He’s unequivocally a family man

Colon will use his money esteem to compensate off propagandize loans, put some-more payments in on his house, “and take my mother on a sauna weekend since she so deserves it,” he said, “for holding a caring of a kids on and off for months but me while we was doing this.”

On one selling debate for a finalists, Frampton recalled, “I … walked adult to Javier and asked, ‘What did we get?’ ‘Oh, we only got this,’ and he pulled out a teeny small T-shirt with Cookie Monster on it. ‘I got this for my kids since they adore Cookie Monster.’ He’s always Skype-ing with his kids. He’s awesome.”

4. He’s a means prankster

Although Frampton also called Colon “a saint,” he’s not but his prankster side. When he initial met teammate Casey Weston, “He spoke to me in a British accent,” she said, “And he done me trust he was English for about 20 minutes!”

Once she met a loyal Colon, she said, “he has been a biggest inspiration, and I’ve schooled so most from him, and we am sanctified and vehement for him to be on my team.”

5. He gets teed off

To relax, Colon plays golf. “I don’t consider people comprehend what an extraordinary golfer he is,” competitor Nakia said. “When we were hold adult in a hotel, he would be in golf withdrawal. Wherever we’re touring, they improved have a mark each other day for him to play golf, since he’s going to need it, a impulse with only him and a golf clubs!”

And, finally, what’s next? On a tour, Colon hopes to sing some Steve Perry or Peter Gabriel material, and duet with as many of a finalists as possible. Also, “Me and Adam are going to get in a studio and do some things,” Colon said, “and even Cee Lo (Green) and we talked about doing some things as well. There’s a lot of good things for me in a future.”

See a strange essay during PEOPLE.com.

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