Maelyn Jarmon beat out Gyth Rigdon, Dexter Roberts and Andrew Sevener to win season 16 of The Voice on May 21, and while she’s looking forward to “decompressing” with her family now that the show’s over, she’s also more than prepared to get started on her career. “I am ready to get to work,” she told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “The first thing will be talking about the direction of my single, my EP and album, depending on what we decide, then getting in the studio and recording ASAP. I am ready. I have songs and I want to collaborate with other writers. I’m open and ready to hit the ground running!”
Unfortunately, The Voice has been criticized in the past for never producing a ‘superstar’ — a la Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson from American Idol — but Maelyn isn’t focused on any negative talk like that. “I feel like the last few winners have really started to make things their own,” Maelyn admitted. “I think once you realize that this is just a platform and there is still so much hard work ahead of you — once you realize that, it’s easier to move forward.”
There are no specific plans for a new release from Maelyn just yet, but she already has an idea of what she wants her album to entail. “I write from personal experience, so in the end, it will probably make a bigger picture because it’s my body of work based off my life experiences,” she explained. “But each song is definitely a moment in time and has its own arc.”
Maelyn impressed the coaches from her very first audition on The Voice, and all four turned around with hopes of landing her on their team. She wound up choosing John Legend, and gave him a win in his very first season as a coach. “He really taught me how to trust my instincts and how to trust myself as an artist,” Maelyn gushed. “The first time I watched it back — when he said that I was an artist and it felt like more of a collaboration working together — was life-changing for me. I cried, because you want that, but you never know! To have somebody at his caliber say that was incredible. So, here on out, I trust myself more.”
In the end, Maelyn is thrilled with the experience she had on The Voice, and regardless of what happens with her career, she raved, “I’m just grateful that I have the opportunity to have what I love to do actually be what I do for a living.” The Voice returns for a new season next fall.