Aiden Ross isn’t just celebrating his The Voice Season 28 victory — he’s still processing it.
The 20-year-old Texas A&M engineering student and newly crowned champion returned home to College Station, TX on Tuesday morning (January 13), where he worked a celebratory “shift” at Raising Cane’s, greeted fans, and performed live. But before the sauce pumps and Box Combos, Ross sat down with media, opening up to Celeb Secrets about his winning season, his bond with coach Niall Horan, and the emotional performances that changed everything.
And if there was one theme from the press session, it was clear: Niall mattered. A lot.
“Niall was a big brother figure to me on the show,” Ross told Celeb Secrets, not as a sound bite but like he was stating a fact about his life. “He’s not old, but he acts like he is… he’s so funny. He does carry with him a lot of wisdom.
That wisdom didn’t come in big speeches. It came in grounding reminders during chaos — especially as the finale approached.
“One thing he always tells me is just like, enjoy this for what it is,” Ross explained to us. “Don’t… like rush through this process. This is such — you’re gonna look back on this and be like, wow, what an incredible time this was.”
Their connection didn’t end with the finale either. When we asked if there was a text message from Horan he plans to hold onto forever, Ross didn’t have to think.
“He said ‘Merry Christmas’ to me before I even reached out to him,” he shared with a smile. “He shot me with that and it was just… it was a very long, heartfelt text. That’s one that I hold close to me for sure.”
Ross’ season was filled with viral moments, but one performance sits at the center of it for him, and it wasn’t necessarily the loudest or biggest. When Celeb Secrets asked which moment he replays in his head when everything goes quiet, he paused — then softened.
“I love that question,” he said to us. “I think for me it was just singing ‘The Blower’s Daughter.’ As the competition went on, the playoff round was the first round where I fully felt just completely grounded the entire performance, and I was really able to just enjoy the moment for what it was.”
He didn’t say it like a highlight reel. He said it like something he still feels. “I think that one,” he continued, “and then also ‘The Winner Takes It All’ for me.”
Those performances — steady, emotional, still — became turning points. They didn’t just convince America. They convinced him that he could be the next winner of The Voice.
Ross grew up watching The Voice with his family — not as a future contestant, but as a kid on the couch who never really believed he’d be on that stage himself.
“My family and I, we’ve watched the show since Season 1,” he said. “I think I was six years old when it first started. That show is the type of show my family watches. I’m a very, very musical family.”
That’s why winning still feels unreal.
“To finally like be on the other side of the screen, but be back home, watching it for the first time with all my friends that have been with me growing up… it’s such a crazy experience,” he said. “Like, wow, I never thought or really believed I would be there. But here I am.”
So what would he say to six-year-old Aiden, the kid who didn’t know yet? “I would literally just say, we did it, bro,” he laughed.
“It’s so crazy to see yourself on TV, especially on a show that I dreamed of being on — or never even truly believed I would ever be on. To have been on the show, to have won the show, is such a full-circle moment for me,” he continued.
With everything happening so quickly, Ross admits that he doesn’t have every step mapped out, but he knows the direction.
“I think what I’m focused on right now is being able to give everything I have to music,” he said to members of the media. “I think I owe that to the people who voted for me, the people that believed in me.”
Promising that fans “can look forward to a lot of content and a lot of new music coming soon,” the 20-year-old is already giving America the first taste of this new chapter with the release of his first post-show single “Love Her Anyway,” which he performed live during his Raising Cane’s celebration. The song, he shared, is deeply personal.
“‘Love Her Anyway’ was inspired by my girlfriend,” he said. “Love can be scary sometimes. There are a lot of questions that will always go unanswered… but you can choose love anyways in the long run.”
After the press conference, Ross went straight into celebration mode: greeting fans, signing autographs, laughing with friends, and yes — buttering toast and pumping Cane’s Sauce.
“I’m a big sauce guy,” he confirmed with a grin. “You can’t go wrong with the Box combo… extra sauce.”
He then performed two songs for the packed restaurant — “Love Her Anyway” and “Love in the Dark,” the Adele cover that started his journey on the show. It was the perfect bookend: from Blind Audition to hometown victory lap.
But the real headline isn’t that Aiden Ross worked a shift at Raising Cane’s. It’s that after winning The Voice, after millions of votes, after confetti and cameras and industry calls — he came home, hugged fans like friends, and made it clear he’s not done yet.
The next chapter? It’s already being written. And judging by the way his voice lights up when he talks about music, about love, about the moment he finally felt grounded on stage — it’s going to be a big one.
You can watch our full interview with Aiden Ross from his Raising Cane’s “shift” below, and don’t forget to leave a reaction at the bottom of the post if you’re excited to see what’s next from the rising star.
The Voice returns for Season 29 with a two-hour premiere of The Voice: Battle of Champions on Monday, February 29 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, streaming next day on Peacock.
For more coverage from Raising Cane’s events, click here.
