The Voice's Cam Anthony Talks 'Newfound Confidence' After Blake Shelton Says He Could Be a 'Superstar'

Cam Anthony is ending The Voice semi-finals on a high note.

After his performance of Boyz II Men's "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" during Monday's night's live show, the 19-year-old Philadelphia native's coach Blake Shelton said he was going to "double down" on his assertion that "this guy's a superstar," a term he also used to describe him last week.

"I can definitely say it gives me a newfound sense of confidence," Anthony told PEOPLE of Shelton's kind words during the virtual press junket after the show. "Hearing someone like him speaking that highly of me definitely means a lot. It's also validation that I'm doing the right thing, and I'm heading in the right direction and that being myself is okay and it works."

When he was a kid, Anthony turned to music as an escape from the violence and crime that surrounded him in his northern Philadelphia hometown. Then at 11, his life changed forever after a video of him singing a Bruno Mars song went viral.

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From there, Anthony was invited to open for Patti LaBelle, sing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and perform at the White House for the annual Easter Egg Roll. By age 12, Anthony was signed by Dr. Dre, and he spent the rest of his teen years recording and performing.

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Now that his contract is up, Anthony has been able to take full control of his artistry with some help from The Voice.

"I think initially I didn't understand who I was fully as an artist," he told reporters during the junket. "Now I do have an understanding, and I was able to figure that out and experiment with that on The Voice. Going into this next contract, possibly, that would be the main difference: I know who I am as an artist, and I know what I want."

The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.