Javier Colon Wins 'The Voice,' Fans Say Stratford Native Is Destined For Stardom

The music industry’s next international superstar may hail from Stratford, Conn.

With Wednesday night’s triumph as the winner of NBC’s “The Voice,” Stratford native Javier Colon has thrown his soulful self into the global limelight. For winning the singing contest, Colon receives a recording contract and a $100,000 prize.

But it may be the intangibles about Colon, 34, that ultimately drive him to stardom, say some of his closest supporters, who gathered at the Savin Rock Roasting Company restaurant in Stratford Wednesday to watch the singing competition’s results show.

“The guy you see on screen is the same guy you see backstage,” said Tom Stepkoski, who, with his wife, Adrienne, saw Colon perform on May 26 at the Ridgefield Playhouse. Adrienne Stepkoski and Colon are both graduates of Stratford’s Bunnell High School Class of 1995. She said she wasn’t sure if her former classmate would remember her when she went backstage to “meet” him at the Ridgefield show, because it had been 16 years since they last saw each other.

But he did. “He said, ‘Oh, you look the same you did how many years ago?’” said Stepkoski, adding that she thinks Colon will use this win to be a positive role model for kids.

Another 1995 Bunnell High grad, Amy Taylor, also attended the Ridgefield show. She said she had a meet-and-greet with Colon before the performance and also wasn’t sure if he would recognize her from their high school days: “I said, ‘We’re here to meet you,’ and he said, ‘You already know me.’”

“It was cute,” said Taylor. “He’s so down-to-earth.”

“The Voice” paired singing contestants with contemporary music icons that coached them through the contest performance process. However, the four coaches also had to eliminate members from their teams, which started with eight members each. Maroon 5 frontman and three-time Grammy Award-winning songwriter Adam Levine picked Colon out of his group to compete against the best the three other team leaders had to offer. After that episode, which aired live Tuesday night, it was up to fans to vote and decide the inaugural show’s winner. 

At Wednesday’s results show, a choked up Levine called Colon “one of his heroes.”

'We all knew it, it was no secret he could sing.'

Throughout the show’s run it was broadcasted that Colon was a husband and father of two, and that “The Voice” might be his last stab at making it big in the music business. Several touring gigs and a stint with Capitol Records never amounted to any bright lights, according to the show’s bio on Colon. It was now or never, the show seemed to be telling him.

“He’s a star and we always knew it,” said Taylor. “He just needed the right exposure. [The show] is totally going to open up new doors for him.”

"Thank you. I don't even know where to begin," said a humble Colon on the show after being named winner of the first season. "I want to thank everyone at home who believed in me and voted for me, and my family."

Kevin Studley was a seventh-grade chorus classmate of Colon’s. He said even at a young age, it was easy to spot his talent.

“We all knew it, it was no secret he could sing,” he said. “And you knew he loved it, you could tell by watching him.”