The Voice Season 5 winner and top 3 contestants discuss season finale
NBC's The Voice wrapped up Season 5 on Tuesday night with the results finale, and fans learned that the winner is...(this is your opportunity to stop reading if you don't want to be spoiled)
Tessanne Chin! One of Adam Levine's two remaining contestants gave him his first Voice title since Season 1 (Blake Shelton had won the last three seasons). As usual, EW.com caught up with the contestants on the red carpet after the show and Chin revealed that she was still in shock.
"It hasn't sunk in yet!" Chin said. "I don't think it will ever sink in. I'm still floored at the outcome." She also said that she was not nervous before or during Tuesday's finale and instead focused on "getting up there and having a good time with my friends."
Chin performed with other Season 5 contestants and also did a duet with Celine Dion. "Celine's just absolutely amazing and I look up to her so much," she said. "I always have and she is even better in person."
One of the criticisms of The Voice is that it has yet to produce a major star such as American Idol's Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood. But Chin could change that as she will soon work with OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder, who co-wrote "Tumbling Down," the song Chin sang after she won Season 5.
"I'm excited to be able to make some amazing music and finally be able to make an album that I know I'm going to be proud of," she said.
Levine, too, is confident in her abilities. "I believe that she was destined for success whether it was on The Voice or abroad. I knew that this was going to happen in some way, shape or form for her," he said. He also added that his final words of wisdom for her are "don't stop."
"Going into this part of the competition, it's always something we dread in a way because we want [our teams] to understand that success reaches beyond winning The Voice," the Maroon 5 frontman said. "It's a wonderful accomplishment but, and Tessanne knows this just as much as anybody, this is only the beginning."
EW.com also caught up with Levine's other player, third-place finisher Will Champlin, who talked about his experience on the show.
"I'll definitely take the work ethic with me after leaving today," he said. "I think I've always had that, honestly. But above all, I'm definitely going to be taking lots of loyal Champs fans with me that have stood by me this whole time and gave me what I have."
Runner-up Jacquie Lee of Team Christina Aguilera said she was "having fun" and "loves what she's doing." The 16-year-old added that she will try to continue her musical career but does not know what type of music she will create.
"I am thinking about every possibility right now," she said. "I'm really into mixing genres and not being confined to one thing. I'm so excited to start experimenting with everything."
Champlin said he would start composing again after he took a break from that endeavor to be on The Voice. He told EW.com that he would go for a "rock-electronic sound" similar to Black Keys or Imagine Dragons.
Lee said she wants to use her time on The Voice to influence her career.
"I've grown so much as a person and I've learned so much musically, about the bigger picture of things and about this industry," she said. "I am so ready to use all the tools that I've just gained and put all of that toward writing my own album."
For the record, The Voice's Season 5 finale won the night Tuesday with 13.8 million viewers and a 3.9 rating in the adults 18-49 demo, but those numbers are both down 12 percent compared to the Season 4 finale (the highest-rated in show history) in June that drew 15.6 million viewers and a 4.4 demo rating. Here's how the show has performed in its five season finales:
Season 1 in June 2011: 11.1 million viewers, 3.7 rating
Season 2 in May 2012: 11.9 million viewers, 4.4 rating
Season 3 in December 2012: 14.1 million viewers, 4.9 rating
Season 4 in June 2013: 15.6 million viewers, 4.4 rating
Season 5 in December 2013: 13.8 million viewers, 3.9 rating