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‘The Voice’ Crowned Its Season 16 Winner and Their Voice Is Straight From Heaven
Congrats, Maelyn Jarmon! The Texas native won season 16 of The Voice, which marks the first victory for John Legend as a coach. She stood out from the beginning but it was a long road to the May 21 finale. Surprisingly, the blonde beauty was the first person to join Team Legend and was the last person standing on the iconic stage. Go, girl!
The 26-year-old, who is deaf in one ear, beat out Gyth Rigdon, Andrew Sevener and Dexter Roberts during the two-hour season finale. The odds were definitely stacked against her because the other three finalists were all on Blake Shelton‘s team while she was the lone songstress left on the EGOT winner’s crew. However, things worked out in her favor because she received the most votes followed by Gyth in second place, Dexter in third and Andrew in fourth.
John and Blake have been at odds during the ~friendly~ competition this season and it was definitely a sweet victory for the “Preach” artist. “I really love Blake and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him this year. He is a very arrogant bastard,” John joked to Life & Style during The Voice Season 16 Two-Night Live Finale Part II. Blake previously said John could “kiss his ass” and the “Green Light” artist seemed unbothered. He continued, “I had this feeling he was going to be the one kissing someone’s ass after the show, and I was right once again.”
“This journey with John has been incredible, it’s been a dream,” the soulful songbird gushed after she was crowned the winner. “This has gone above and beyond my expectations … I owe it to everyone who voted and streamed my songs.”
It turns out, her coach was just as smitten with her talent. “Maelyn makes me feel at peace … Everything’s right when I get to listen to her voice,” the “All of Me” singer said. “I’m just so grateful I got to work with you this time.”
The musical duo actually hit it off right from the beginning. “I just love her work ethic, her attention to detail,” John explained to Life & Style. “She just goes into every song with a strategy and with a plan for how to execute a song, and she has the wherewithal to actually be able to do it. And it makes it very, very easy for a coach. I can give her a few notes, but she would be good no matter who was her coach because she has that level of excellence already in her.”
During the musical extravaganza, Maelyn performed a duet of “Angel” with Sarah McLachlan. In fact, all of the finalists had amazing performances with their idols. Dexter and Toby Keith sang a spicy version of “That’s Country Bro” and Gyth brought a lot of soul with Hootie & The Blowfish during “Hold My Hand.”
Besides the contestants, there were about a dozen special performances. Taylor Swift and Brendon Urie lit up the stage with a colorful rendition of “ME!” while the Jonas Brothers made us swoon with “Cool.”
Basically, all the finalists have bright futures ahead and we can’t wait to see what they do next!
