AN AMERICAN soul singer who is one of the hot favourites to win The Voice this year has told how he moved from Dallas to live in an idyllic windmill in Sussex with his husband.

Cedric Neal delivered a stunning performance of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground during the blind auditions on ITV last month which impressed all four of the judges.

Within seconds, judge Jennifer Hudson was up in dancing and begged him to join her team. On stage 44-year-old Cedric said: “I felt like I won the gold medal at the Olympics” and opted for Sir Tom Jones to be his mentor.

Cedric is not only a gifted singer but he is also an actor who has appeared in the West End in Motown The Musical as Berry Gordy, founder of the legendary record label.

He said: “I was born in Dallas and I wanted to become an actor since I was in secondary school.

“I joined a school production and I loved it. I enjoy acting because I could escape what was bothering me. The school’s director suggested I should perform in theatres.

“I moved around to big cities like New York and Washington DC. In 2012 I met my husband in a Dreamgirl's production in the capital city, he was in the audience. We got married in 2014 and we moved to the UK and lived in London.”

Cedric has had minor roles in in the TV series Friday Night Lights, Jerry Bruckheimer’s Chase and The Good Guys and the comedy film Lost In London.

In 2018 he starred in the revival of the musical Chess as The Arbiter alongside Michael Ball and Alexandra Burke.

Cedric said: “We were in Cornwall in 2014 as we wanted to have a break from living in big cities.

“We drove to Brighton and we fell in love with it. It’s eclectic and it’s a very diverse city. We moved into the Patcham Windmill. WhenI wake up I say to myself ‘I am living in a windmill’.

“I love it here, there’s a lot of green spaces and I’ve got used to people taking pictures of the windmill.”

When asked about the auditions, he said: “I really look forward to working with Sir Tom, he is a legend. There I was on stage performing in front of him and he fought for me to join his team.

“When I was singing and I saw one chair turn, I almost blacked out. Then I remembered I had to keep singing. I really didn’t expect four chairs to turn so after the auditions I kept re-watching it at home.”

Cedric also explained why he picked Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground for the blind auditions.

He said: “I chose this song because of its meaning. The song reflects a lot about what is going on around the world socially and politically.

“There are a lot of good people helping others, but sometimes things don’t work out.

“But Stevie Wonder’s song inspires us to continue with what we believe in because if we keep fighting for our beliefs, we will reach the higher ground. I still believe there is a higher ground.

“I will never forget the moment when the judges turned their chairs for me. All the uncertainty I had washed away. It was a victory.”

The Voice UK continues on Saturday at 8pm on ITV.