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Blind Strand singer wins $5 000 prize in New York

Published

Vernon Barnard won the Community Choice Award at the seventh annual Danny Awards at Town Hall in Manhattan on Sunday, 18 October. Audience members at the venue and online voted for the winner. The prize is roughly R82 000.

Barnard plans to buy a new phone with the money and save the rest. He said: "I'm not going to live extravagantly." His father, Vernon Sr, went with him to New York.

Daniel's Music Foundation presents the Danny Awards. Each year it selects 10 artists from around the world to perform live in New York.

Barnard became widely known after his blind audition of One Direction's Story of My Life on The Voice SA. The audition has 29 million online views. He had 16 unsuccessful eye operations before he was six.

Key facts

Who
Vernon Barnard (blind singer from Strand, Community Choice Award winner); Vernon Sr (Barnard's father, who accompanied him); Daniel's Music Foundation (presenter of the Danny Awards)
What
Vernon Barnard received the Community Choice Award, voted by audience at the venue and online, at the Danny Awards ceremony held at the historic Town Hall in Manhattan. He plans to use the prize, roughly R82 000, to buy a new phone and save the rest.
When
18 October 2026
Where
New York, Manhattan, Strand
Status
Reported

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