Sing it out! The Voice aired its Season 9 finale on Tuesday, December 15, revealing its winner after performances by such big-name artists as Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Coldplay.
Capping a season for the NBC series that involved some incredible music moments, not to mention plenty of flirting between lovebirds Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, four singers were still in the running heading into the last episode: Jordan Smith, from Adam Levine‘s team; Emily Ann Roberts and Barrett Baber of Team Blake; and Gwen Stefani‘s Jeffery Austin.
In the end, Jordan claimed the win, with Emily Ann coming in second, Barrett in third, and Jeffery in fourth. This marks Levine’s third win as a coach.
Jordan, 21, tells Us Weekly that he has changed dramatically since he started on the singing competition, as it has made him a more confident performer.
“I’m still becoming used to it, but I know that this is so surreal, and I’m so blessed just to have been a part of this and to have grown so much,” Jordan says. “I think the greatest thing you can do as an artist is just keep learning and understand that you’ve never arrived at the end of your journey. At every end is a new beginning. So now I’m taking this end and starting something else, and I’m not there yet.”
The Kentucky native reveals that his favorite moment from this season was performing Queen’s “Somebody to Love.” His powerful rendition compelled his coach to take the stage to give him a mic drop, and the song even managed to knock Adele out of the top spot on the iTunes chart.
“It was so unexpected, and I didn’t even expect myself to do some of those things, and then I watched it back, and I was like, ‘What did I do? Oh my gosh, what happened?'” Jordan says. “But it was just so crazy, and it showed me the little pieces that Adam’s been bringing out all season. … I realized that he’s been slowly bringing out an artist that I had inside of me that I didn’t know about, and in that moment, I was like, ‘Well, there he is! That’s what we’ve been working towards!’ So it was really cool.”
The Lee University student says he wants his music to let listeners know there are “other people out there who feel the same way as you do and who understand what you’re going through.” He adds that singing “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” on Monday carried particular significance for him.
“It’s really special to me in my life right now because I feel that as the show is ending, I’m at the foot of another mountain, you know, that I’m going to have to work really hard to make this a career for myself and really hard to make it in the industry, and so that was a special song,” he says.
On Monday’s first part of the finale, each remaining contestant performed a solo song, a duet tune with their coach, and a Christmas song. Jordan sang “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “God Only Knows” with Levine, and “Mary, Did You Know?” Roberts’ choices were “Burning House,” “Islands in the Stream” with Shelton, and “Blue Christmas.” Barber performed “Die a Happy Man,” “Rhinestone Cowboy” with Shelton, and “Silent Night,” while Austin’s tunes were”Stay,” Leather and Lace” with Stefani, and “O Holy Night.”
Tell Us: Did Jordan deserve the win?
