Maelyn Jarmon earned new coach John Legend his first victory after being crowned the winner of season 16 of The Voice on Tuesday night
As the newly crowned winner of The Voice, Maelyn Jarmon has plenty to look forward to — including dinner at coach John Legend and wife Chrissy Teigen’s house with their toddlers, Luna and Miles.
At the press conference after the season 16 finale on Tuesday night, Legend promised to have the 26-year-old singer and her family over for a “hangout session” while she’s in Los Angeles — a plan which Jarmon says is currently in the works.
“We’re in talks right now trying to solidify a plan to make that happen which is just crazy,” Jarmon tells PEOPLE. “I can’t believe it! I finally get to meet Chrissy and the babies. After all this time!”
While Legend has given Jarmon plenty of career advice throughout her time on the show, he’s also given her advice in another area: her relationship with her boyfriend and fellow musician, Johnny Murrell. Now that she’ll be going full-speed ahead with her career, Jarmon says she can’t wait to “pick his brain a little more” during their hangout about how to navigate the future.
“I’m hoping that when I get that dinner, I [can ask my] questions about going into the future and how to do all this,” she says. “We were just in show-mode for the whole season so it was very focused on the next performance and every song.”
Jarmon acknowledges her boyfriend for being “so incredible” throughout the entire process of the show, which often left them with little time to see or talk to each other.
“It’s not easy on a relationship,” she says. “The distance is hard and with how busy I am, you can’t spend a lot of time together or even talk very much. I was on vocal rest a lot to keep myself healthy and make sure I was on my game. Even when I had a moment, we didn’t talk very much. So he just has been incredible and to share that moment and for him to run on stage and be a part of that was just so special.”
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With her $100,000 grand prize winnings, Jarmon is planning to use some of it to pay back Murrell for all of his support.
“I’d really love to do a solo trip with my guy,” she says. “We haven’t done that in a long time so I want to do that for sure and have some quality time with him because he has absolutely earned some of that. I’m going to be cliché, but Hawaii would be amazing. I’ve also thought about Ireland. Ireland looks beautiful, and I’ve always wanted to go.”
Additionally, Jarmon is planning to put some of the money towards charities and causes that are important to her.
“I’m thinking about how having a platform now is a responsibility and also an honor,” she says. “I want to make sure that I’m really utilizing it and making a difference.”
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Jarmon has already made a difference in the lives of viewers across the country by sharing the story of how she lost her hearing when she was a child. At 2 years old, Jarmon had tubes inserted into her ears to treat recurring ear infections. Unfortunately, the tubes ended up damaging her eardrums and left her deaf in her right ear and with only 80 percent hearing in the left ear.
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“I had multiple reconstructive surgeries and none of them ever took,” she explains. “I had too much scar tissue and so we decided that I was meant to be deaf in my right ear. It was great, though, because my parents never treated it like a disability so I never saw it like that. You have to work with what you have. I ended up making it kind of an advantage for myself. It has worked out for me. You got to adjust yourself, but then also embrace the fact that it makes you different and makes you special.”
In response, Jarmon says she has gotten “so many touching stories” from fans who have reached out.
“I think the ones that have really stood out to me have been from parents who have kids with the same kind of disability,” she says. “A parent wants to tell their kid they’re going to be okay and sometimes they don’t know that. But for them to see somebody who is making the best of it, they can show their kids that it actually is going to be okay and it’s all about your mindset. I am so overwhelmed by that and it has just been so amazing. I didn’t really think about that coming into this, and that’s honestly been one of the best parts of this.”
After the finale, Jarmon says 42 of her family members and friends gathered at her hotel to celebrate with a cake that they had gotten for her. Another welcome surprise came on Wednesday when Taylor Swift, who performed her hit “ME!” with Brendon Urie during the finale, offered her message of congratulations to Jarmon.
“Had the best time performing with @brendonurie on @nbcthevoice finale – thank you to the fans there for being so welcoming! And a huge congratulations to @MaelynMusic!! Meeting you made my day,” Swift tweeted, to which Jarmon responded, “Are you kidding?! Meeting you made my WEEK! You are a dream @taylorswift13.”
As for what fans can expect from her upcoming new music, Jarmon says to get ready to hear an album with “alternative-indie-pop roots” within the next year. And as for her fans’ support, she just wants to say, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“I had no expectations coming into this,” she says. “To have been the most-streamed was incredible because I do this for the connection with the audience. To know that they were feeling what I was feeling is everything. I’m just beyond grateful.