THE VOICE Crowns the Season 16 Champion

Maelyn Jarmon, a 26-year-old artist originally from Frisco, Texas, and currently living in New York, was crowned champion of "The Voice" tonight. Jarmon stood out all season for both her stunning vocals and ability to master her sound as an artist deaf in one ear. The Pop alternative singer earned Coach John Legend his first "Voice" win on the four-time Emmy Award-winning musical competition series.

Jarmon faced tough and talented competition from the other Top 4 finalists - Gyth Rigdon, Dexter Roberts and Andrew Severner, all from Team Blake.

This season of "The Voice" concluded at Universal Studios with a star-studded live finale featuring performances by mega-star recording artists Taylor Swift ft. Brendon Urie, BTS, Jonas Brothers, Halsey, Khalid, OneRepublic and Hootie & the Blowfish. Additionally, the finale featured the Top 4 artists collaborating with an assortment of A-list, chart-topping musicians, including Sarah McLachlan, Travis Tritt, Toby Keith and Hootie & the Blowfish, who sang with Rigdon in addition to giving their own performance.

In Jarmon's Blind Audition, she earned an immediate four-chair turn from the coaches with A HAUNTING and soulful rendition of "Fields of Gold" by Sting. After coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton all lobbied to get her on their team, she ultimately chose to join Legend in his first season as a coach. As a part of Team Legend, Jarmon proved to be unstoppable after winning her Battle Round with "When We Were Young" by Adele and her Cross Battle with "Mad World" by Gary Jules. Showcasing precision and mastery of her vocals in the Top 24, Jarmon was voted through by America after a stand-out performance of "Fallingwater" by Maggie Rogers. A vulnerable take on Coldplay's "The Scientist" pushed Jarmon through to the Top 8 where a jaw-dropping performance of "Stay" by Rihanna earned her a spot in the finale.

On Monday night, Jarmon debuted her original single, "Wait for You," which was written by Hayley Warner, Gino Barletta, and writer/producers Christopher Petrosino and Robert McCurdy of Noise Club. Legend joined Jarmon on stage for a duet of "Unforgettable" by Nat King Cole and her final performance of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" was a show-stopper.

On tonight's finale, Jarmon performed a special duet with Sarah McLachlan. Together they sang her hit song "Angel."

Jarmon was the only artist this season to reach #1 on the iTunes Overall Songs chart with her cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which also reached #1 on the Alternative Genre chart. Additionally, she hit #1 on the iTunes Pop Genre chart with her original single, "Wait for You." Throughout the season, Jarmon made it into the iTunes Top 10 a total of five times - more than any other artist this season. On Apple Music, Jarmon was the most streamed artist for three weeks in a row, taking the lead spot in the Top 13, Top 8 and Top 4.

Jarmon has always loved music, despite facing some challenges. At 2 years old, she had tubes inserted into her ears to treat recurring ear infections. The tubes ultimately damaged her eardrums and left her deaf in her right ear and with only 80% hearing in the left ear. At 13, Jarmon started voice lessons and became heavily involved in musical theater. Four years later, she was encouraged to try Broadway and her parents moved with her to New York to give it a shot. Soon after, she stepped away from Broadway and is now focusing on creating original music.

As champion of "The Voice," Jarmon has earned the grand prize of a recording contract.

This season, the Monday and Tuesday editions of "The Voice" are combining to average a 2.0 rating in adults 18-49 and 10.7 million viewers overall in "live plus seven day" Nielsens, with the Monday edition consistently finishing in the weekly top 10 rankers and leading its timeslot versus regular Big 4 competition in every key ratings category (including a tie in women 18-34). On Monday of this week, "The Voice" increased it "live plus same day" audience for a third week in a row to deliver its most-watched episode in seven weeks.

"The Voice" is a presentation of MGM Television, Talpa Media USA Inc., Warner Horizon Unscripted & Alternative Television. The series was created by John de Mol, who serves as executive producer along with Mark Burnett, Audrey Morrissey, Amanda Zucker, Kyra Thompson and Stijn Bakkers.

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