Koryn Hawthorne
Koryn Mattanah Hawthorne (born December 26, 1997) is an American contemporary Christian music and gospel singer. Hawthorne was a finalist in season 8 of NBC‘s singing competition The Voice, at the age of 17, as a member on Pharrell Williams‘s team. After placing fourth on the show, Hawthorne got signed to RCA Inspiration, a division of Sony Music dedicated to gospel music recordings. Her debut studio album, Unstoppable, was released on July 13, 2018, and earned her multiple awards nominations, including two Grammy nominations.
Koryn Hawthorne auditioned for the eighth season of The Voice singing Emeli Sandé‘s “My Kind of Love”. Both Christina Aguilera and Williams turned around. Hawthorne chose Aguilera as her coach. In the Battle rounds, Hawthorne faced Vance Smith, where they sang “Love Me Harder“, a duet by Ariana Grande and The Weekend. Hawthorne was chosen over Smith. During the Knockout rounds, she covered “Try” but lost to her opponent Kimberly Nichole. She was then stolen by Williams.
During the Playoffs she sang How Great Thou Art but was not chosen by the public, who could only save two artists from Williams’ team. Williams, who could save one of his three remaining artists, chose her. The following week, she sang Kelly Clarkson‘s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” and was saved by public voting. In the Top 10 she performed “Make It Rain” by Foy Vance, reaching the third position on iTunes and debuting at the 84th position on Hot 100. The following week, she covered “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys and was saved by the public.
In the Top 6, Hawthorne showed her rock side covering R.E.M‘s “Everybody Hurts” and Aerosmith‘s “Dream On“. In the Top 5, after singing U2‘s “One” and the traditional song, “Oh Mary Don’t You Weep“, she was, alongside India Carney, in the bottom two. She sang Beyoncé‘s “If I Were a Boy” for her last chance performance, being instantly saved over Carney. In the finale, Hawthorne performed “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by James Brown, The Beatles‘ “We Can Work It Out” with coach Williams and also her original song “Bright Fire”, written by Williams. She finished in 4th place.
Throughout the competition, Hawthorne’s evolution as a singer caught the attention of the coaches. Adam Levine pointed out that never before in the history of The Voice had he seen “such a drastic, incredible, unbelievable journey”. Williams compared her drive to succeed to that of Beyoncé. Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza declared May 6, 2015 “Koryn Hawthorne Day” and presented her with the key to the city.
