Sawyer Fredericks walked away the winner of "The Voice' for season eight, but his fellow finalists cannot call themselves losers.
Meghan Linsey, Joshua Davis and Koryn Hawthorne all went through weeks of exhaustive competition and each emerged more seasoned artists.
Team Blake member Linsey finished runner-up and is grateful for her new found level of confidence that she got from doing the show. "The Voice" also gave her the chance to be in the presence of a childhood idol - Christina Aguilera.
"The competition brought out a whole other level of confidence from me," Linsey told Headlines & Global News exclusively. "I've been through so much in the music industry so to come here and have Christina Aguilera standing up telling me I did a great job. She has been such an idol of mine since I was a kid - she's freaking Christina Aguilera! And one of the best vocalists of all time. So things like that blew my mind."
The Nashville transplant also credited the singing competition for giving her the "college experience" that she never had.
"I didn't go to college," Linsey said. "So it's nice to have that kind of community of people with the same interests and be surrounded by talented individuals. Everyone around you is so loving and generous and kind."
Linsey plans to continue working on an album that she's been recording during the show and hopes to have it ready for fans soon.
Third-place finalist Davis of Team Adam also enjoyed "a great experience on the show. The Michigan family man and longtime musician was honored to represent his hometown's "roots music," but he'll miss the community he shared on "The Voice."
"It's an incredible family here and while it's a competition, we really didn't see it like that," Davis told HNGN exclusively. "I'll miss being with these guys and just growing as an artist and singer."
Davis also intends to release new music, which will include many of the songs he wrote during his time on the show. He'll look to capitalize on the platform the show gave him and put into practice a few big lessons he learned during the competition.
"I'm going to warm up before I sing on a record," he said, laughing. "I never really warmed up before and never looked at my voice as an instrument. Now I know how to use it better and I do warm-up, run scales and work on it."
As for fourth-place finisher Hawthorne, who represented Team Pharrell alongside Fredericks, she leaves with the greatest knowledge off all - "I can do anything," the 17-year-old singer told HNGN exclusively.
Hawthorne thanks Coach Pharrell for her new positive attitude, which she finally accepted after weeks of him telling her to believe in herself.
"Sometimes I would doubt myself," she admitted. "He'd tell me to stop it! He really taught me to believe in myself and be myself. I won't ever tell myself I can't do it again."
The Louisiana native said she will miss performing for America every week as well as spending time with her teammate Fredericks and their coach, Pharrell. Her immediate future is still up in the air, but the confident teen leaves the show more certain that music will definitely be a part of it.
"Music is my everything so it will be in my future," Hawthorne said. "I don't know how it's going to happen but I'm letting God lead everything. I'm just walking in his plan and can't wait to see what it is."
One thing is for sure: You haven't heard the last of these voices.
