He recently wowed fans of The Voice with his amazing blind audition of the Anthony Warlow classic This Is the Moment from the Jekyll and Hyde musical.
And now, Matthew Hearne has a spot on the singing competition with outspoken judge Kate Miller-Heidke as his coach after she and Adam Lambert both hit their buzzers in a bid to have him on their teams.
But the 25-year-old Paralympian admits he could have been swayed to join coach Adam’s squad after Kate used her ‘Ultimate Block’ – a new gimmick introduced to the show this year giving judges the power to block all three of their fellow coaches at once, ensuring the artist they like joins their team.
Matthew, who has cerebral palsy, made the surprising admission in a new interview in the latest edition of Woman’s Day.
‘It was always going to be a toss-up between Adam and Kate,’ he told the magazine.
‘In a kind of self-indulgent sense, it would have been nice to hear a little bit more of Adam’s pitch and for him to have said some more nice things about me, because I wouldn’t be too disappointed with that.’
The hunky athlete, who played on the Australian Paralympic Soccer Team, ‘The Pararoos’, has appeared on stage in musicals like Guys and Dolls.
He added: ‘They [Kate and Adam] both could have provided so many amazing bits of wisdom and guidance since they both have experience working within the world of musical theatre.
Former Paralympian Matthew Hearne (pictured) wowed fans of The Voice with his amazing blind audition of the Anthony Warlow classic This is the Moment from the Jekyll and Hyde musical
‘Obviously, Kate blocked Adam but I think she may have won me over without that as well.’
Elsewhere in the chat, Matthew explained that he auditioned for The Voice after performing the Australian national anthem for a Pararoos match.
And he also admits he can get nervous before a show.
‘When I get performance anxiety, I can start to lose control over my body,’ he said.
The performance earned him a spot on the singing competition with outspoken judge Kate Miller-Heidke (pictured) as his coach
It comes after a TV insider has revealed that a new coach on The Voice is ‘nervous’ about their edit.
Australian singer Kate Miller-Heidke, 42, made her debut on the singing contest last month alongside fellow coaches Guy Sebastian, LeAnn Rimes and Adam Lambert.
A source close to the show claims that Kate’s highly competitive style with her co-stars is being used by producers to ‘create’ drama.
And now fans appear to be upset with the way the Last Day on Earth hitmaker has been making ‘mean’ comments directed at the other judges.
‘It does feel like she was planted to ruffle some feathers,’ the source, described as a ‘production’ insider, told Yahoo Lifestyle on Wednesday.
But the 25-year-old Paralympian admits he could have been swayed to join coach Adam Lambert’s squad after Kate used her ‘Ultimate Block
They continued: ‘I think Kate only now knows the role she is playing amongst the coaches after seeing this week’s episodes.
‘I am sure Kate would have liked a heads-up during the taping in Sydney earlier this year. Surely the producer would have been creating storylines and picking up on her style of judging.’
Some viewers, meanwhile, have slammed Kate’s style on social media especially in the way she appears to ‘undercut’ the other coaches during auditions.
Kate’s efforts to persuade contestant Tia Barnes to join her team included a joking suggestion to the young performer to not ‘listen to the crap the [other coaches] say.’
‘I love Kate however I’ve noticed this evening she makes some mean comments,’ one fan commented after an episode this week.
Matthew is currently pursuing a career in musical theatre after playing on the Australian Paralympic Soccer Team, ‘The Pararoos’, has appeared on stage in musicals like Guys and Dolls. Pictured: The Voice judges
‘Not sure she realises how it’s coming across. I know it’s being competitive however this is a bit different.’
‘Agree, she has really turned me off, her behaviour is really nasty,’ posted another.
Meanwhile, Kate style has also been praised for not being ‘politically’ correct.
‘She’s an Aussie, guys! And she doesn’t seem to put on a ‘woke politically correct’ facade. I am actually growing more respect for her ‘realness’ Go Kate,’ wrote one fan.
‘Kate is so good on this show,’ messaged another.
Another fan gushed: ‘Absolutely zero wrong with anything Kate has said. She’s awesome.’
