Koryn Hawthorne

Koryn Mattanah Hawthorne (born December 26, 1997)^[1] is an American gospel and soul singer. Hawthorne is best known for being a finalist in season 8 of NBC's reality TV singing competition The Voice, placing fourth place. She was a member on Pharrell Williams' team.^[2]

Early life

Hawthorne was born to Summers Dozier-Simon and Corey Hawthorne in the small town of Abbeville, Louisiana, where she grew up. She has been performing since the age of 9, when she joined an organization called Louisiana Kids, in which she would compete against other kids in her state. As she got older she continued to sing locally at nursing homes, churches, and different charity events. Before auditioning for The Voice, Hawthorne held a part-time job at Little Caesars. On May 14, 2016 Koryn became a graduate of Lighthouse Christian Preparatory High School in Abbeville.

Career

2015: The Voice

Koryn Hawthorne auditioned for the eighth season of The Voice singing Emeli Sandé's "My Kind of Love".^[3] 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 Weeknd. 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^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[8] Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza declared May 6, 2015 “Koryn Hawthorne Day" and presented her with the key to the city.^[9]

     – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

2016-present: Post-The Voice and new artist management agreement

After finishing in 4th place on The Voice, Hawthorne signed with Maximum Artist Group, run by Mitchell Solarek.^[10] On February, she announced via Twitter she would be guest starring on the fifth season of Mary Mary, that first aired on March, 3.^[11] On March 6, 2016, the TV show Saints & Sinners, in which Hawthorne recorded the song Saints & Sinners for the original soundtrack, was premiered on Bounce TV.^[12] It is the first material released from Hawthorne since the end of the season 8 of NBC's The Voice.

Discography

Singles

Releases from The Voice

References