SINGING sensation Jimmy Balito was defeated in the final of The Voice on Saturday night.

The 23-year-old from Pulborough wowed the crowd with a powerful performance of the Tina Turner classic Simply the Best.

But Jimmy’s best was not good enough on the night as 18-year-old Molly Hocking from Cornwall stole the show with her version of Lady Gaga’s I’ll Never Love Again.

She now gets to sign a record deal with Polydor and release the song as her debut single with the label.

Singing teacher Deana Walmsley from Liverpool and actress Bethzienna Williams from London also went home empty-handed.

Jimmy said: “It’s been absolutely incredible. I’ve been through some hellish things but this has been like heaven for me.”

Jimmy’s second performance on the night saw him perform All Right Now by Free in a duet with his mentor, Olly Murs.

The track was the favourite song of Jimmy’s father, who died before Jimmy reached the knock-out stages of the competition.

The pair put on a vibrant and energetic performance, leaving both men struggling to catch their breath as presenter Emma Willis spoke to them afterwards.

Olly Murs said they had chosen the song to make Jimmy’s father proud, and added that no-one deserved to win the competition more than he did.

One of Jimmy’s stand-out performances in the lead-up to the final was his emotional rendition of Radiohead’s High and Dry. It was the singer’s first performance since the death of his father.

At the time, he said: “I just wish he was here to see it. My dad was ill for some time. He was really, really sick with cancer.

“He came up and he watched the battles. He was ecstatic afterwards and it was an amazing time.

“Shortly after dad got ill and within a week or so he passed away. He’d want me to carry on.”

Jimmy gave his all in both performances but, when he took to the stage with his fellow contestants to hear the results of the public vote, he found out that he had narrowly missed out on a spot in the top two.

It was contestants Molly Hocking and Deana Walmsley who progressed to the final stage of the competition. They each performed one final song and it was Hocking, also mentored by Murs, who was crowned the overall series winner.

She said: “I never thought in a million years I’d be in the final of The Voice. I just want to sing for the rest of my life.”