Jesse Kinch Is The First Winner Of 'Rising Star'

Jesse Kinch, a 20-year-old rocker, became the first winner of ABC’s singing competition Rising Star on Sunday night’s finale.

Jesse Kinch Wins Rising Star

Rising Star viewers crowned Kinch the winner of a recording contract with Capitol Records Sunday night, using the show’s live, real time, social media voting. Using the Rising Star app, viewers were encouraged to vote either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ for each performer, and the ones with the highest percentages of ‘Yes’ would move forward.

Kinch was an early front-runner, having been voted through week after week without need for concern. Kinch always received over 80% Yes votes – more commonly staing at the 88% range. He began the show earning a 92% in his first performance of “I Put A Spell On You.”

Rising Star Finale Recap

The finale began with four finalists, Kinch, Austin French, Dana Williams and Audrey Kate Geiger.

Both Williams and Geiger were eliminated after the first round, leaving French and Kinch to battle lobby for America’s votes with one final performance. French chose to sing “Bless The Open Road.”

Kinch gave one final rock performance, guitar in hand, singing “Love Reign O’er Me.”

Kinch won the competition with a 76% yes vote, 15% higher than French’s 61% total.

Rising Star has not yet been picked up for a second season, and it’s lackluster ratings make it likely that Kinch will be the show’s one and only winner.