Koryn Mattanah Hawthorne (born December 26, 1997)[1] is an American contemporary Christian music and gospel singer. Hawthorne is best known for being a finalist in season 8 of NBC's singing competition The Voice, at the age of 17, as a member on Grammy Award winner Pharrell's team.[2] After placing fourth place on the show, Hawthorne soon got signed to RCA Inspiration, which is a division of Sony Music dedicated to gospel music recordings.[3] Her debut studio album, Unstoppable, was released on July 13, 2018.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 2015: The Voice 2.2 2016-2017: EP release and Stellar Awards nominations 2.3 2018: Debut album release and concert 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 EPs 3.3 Singles 3.3.1 As lead artist 3.3.2 As featured artist 3.4 Releases from The Voice 4 Awards and nominations 4.1 Stellar Gospel Music Awards 5 References 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".[4] 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[5] 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.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9] Abbeville Mayor Mark Piazza declared May 6, 2015 “Koryn Hawthorne Day" and presented her with the key to the city.[10]

     – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes Stage Song Original Artist Date Order Result Blind Audition "My Kind of Love" Emeli Sandé March 3, 2015 4/2 Christina Aguilera and Pharrell Williams turnedJoined Team Christina Battle Rounds "Love Me Harder" (vs. Vance Smith) Ariana Grande March 17, 2015 9/3 Saved by Coach Knockout Rounds "Try" (vs. Kimberly Nichole) Pink March 23, 2015 10/6 DefeatedStolen by Pharrell Williams Live Playoffs (Top 20) "How Great Thou Art" Christian hymn April 6, 2015 6 Bottom 3 Saved by Pharrell Williams Live Top 12 "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" Kelly Clarkson April 13, 2015 9 Saved by Public Vote Live Top 10 "Make It Rain" Foy Vance April 20, 2015 5 Saved by Public Vote Live Top 8 "Girl On Fire" Alicia Keys April 27, 2015 8 Saved by Public Vote Live Top 6 "Everybody Hurts" R.E.M. May 4, 2015 3 Saved by Public Vote "Dream On" Aerosmith 9 Live Top 5 (Semi-Finals) and Instant Save "One" U2 May 11, 2015 2 Bottom 2 Saved by Instant Save "Oh Mary Don't You Weep" Traditional 7 "If I Were a Boy" Beyoncé May 12, 2015 2 Live Finale "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" James Brown May 18, 2015 1 4th place "We Can Work It Out" (with Pharrell Williams) The Beatles 6 "Bright Fire" (Original song) Koryn Hawthorne 10