THE firefighter who won the BBC talent contest The Voice has described himself as "lost for words" as he emerged triumphant and saw his first single top the charts within 24 hours.

In a first for the programme, McCrorie's debut single went on sale at midnight on Saturday and by yesterday morning had reached the top of the iTunes chart. Meanwhile the Clackmannanshire-born fireman revealed that has also been invited to perform at this year's T in the Park, where he may join Voice mentor Ricky Wilson onstage with his band, The Kaiser Chiefs.

Speaking after the final, Wilson said that McCrorie's win had come about because of his knack of "connecting with people". "Stevie's a typical Scotsman," he added. "Although on paper he was the favourite all along, he still felt like the massive underdog".

It was a sentiment his protégé echoed. "A lot of people saw something in me that I didn't see," said McCrorie. "Even standing up there I've still got that self doubt and I think it's going to take a while to to take in that I've actually won The Voice 2015."

McCrorie competed in Saturday's live final alongside fellow finalists Sasha Simone and Emmanuel Namawadi, who were both eliminated halfway through, and opera singer Lucy O'Byrne, who he faced in a sing-off round watched by nearly eight million people.

"You've made all my dreams come true" he wrote later on his Instagram page after winning Saturday's final.

Taking to Twitter yesterday, he thanked everyone who had sent his single to the top of the iTunes download chart. The song is a cover of Lost Stars, written by Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine for the Keira Knightley comedy Begin Again and nominated for an Oscar earlier this year.

Among those adding their good wishes on social media were First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs Minister.

"Congratulations Stevie," tweeted Mrs Hyslop. "House full of relatives here went ballistic with cheers".

Not everyone was as effusive, however. Despite being the bookies' favourite, a backlash against McCrorie had started on social media within minutes of his victory, with many users suggesting opera singer Lucy O'Byrne should have won.

Wilson said he had told McCrorie: "You have to be a success."

"That's the first thing I said to him when ... I said, tell you what, if this show's going to carry on, you need to ... it's on your shoulders now. You have to be a success. And I know that you're going to do everything you can to do it because this is where it starts."