‘The Voice’ Winner Brynn Cartelli Teases New Music, Praises Coach Kelly Clarkson

When Brynn Cartelli was named the winner of “The Voice” Season 14, she became the youngest contestant in the history of the NBC singing competition to do so. With powerful vocals and the coveted title working in her favor, the singer is ecstatic about her win and eager to take the next steps into jump-starting her music career.

Following her victory, Cartelli spoke with International Business Times about the special moment that changed her life and how she plans to chase her dreams with this new opportunity.

While Cartelli appears to have the world at her feet, the singer admitted she was quite surprised when she heard her name called during “The Voice” Season 14 finale.

“I was excited, it all became really real. That’s why it was so emotional for me when I was up there. It’s just something I never dream would have happened, ever and it became a reality for me. It’s just been really emotional and really crazy. Definitely, when I was up there I was shocked,” she told IBT.

The 15-year-old from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, wasn’t aware what was in store for her when she began competing on the series and confessed she was never sure if she would ever walk away as a winner.

“I had performances where I thought, ‘Maybe this could get me to the finale.’ Or performances where I was like, ‘I think this could move me on to next week’ but I never thought, ‘This one is going to make me win the whole show.’ I never had that idea, I never expected to win, I never thought I was going to win it until I actually heard my name called,” she explained.

Although Cartelli is thrilled about the unexpected victory, she made sure she gave credit to the person who assisted her journey to the finale-- her coach, Kelly Clarkson. “She was an amazing coach, she was so much more involved than people could have understood,” the winner gushed.

“[She was] very open and honest with me but she was also an amazing person. She was really fun to be around and always made me feel better about whatever stress I was going through with my song or performance. She always instilled a little bit of confidence in me,” Cartelli continued.

During the Top 24 stage of the competition, Clarkson took her team on an off-camera trip to Universal Studios Hollywood, which Cartelli recalled as an unforgettable experience.

“During lunch, she talked to all of us about the music industry, how it’s affected her and how it can affect us if we let it. She gave us a really honest but much-needed talk about what we could be heading into and I’ll forever remember that,” Cartelli shared.

Since Cartelli’s win, Clarkson was sure to give the teen some advice as she embraces her newfound fame thanks to her time on the singing competition.

“Kelly definitely has been helping me deal with all the attention I have been getting and has reminded me to keep the things that make me feel normal in my life and make me feel like I’m still that small town girl,” Cartelli said.

“That’s really important to me and now I understand more than ever why she was saying that to me. I can’t wait to get back home and well, it’s going to be crazy, I know, but I’m just excited to be there again and have that little bit of normal in my life,” she admitted.

When Cartelli, who aspires to work with Tori Kelly someday, decides to release new music, fans can expect to hear songs that come straight from the singer’s heart. “I’m planning on telling whatever stories that feel inspiring to me,” she said.

Cartelli also plans on staying true to the sound America fell in love with when they first heard her sing on “The Voice” Season 14. “I’m going to go with this pop/soul genre that I’m really loving and have always loved. I hope it does well for me and I’m really excited about the future!”

Although Cartelli plans to head home to spend some quality time with her loved ones, she is determined to make sure she uses her new opportunity to follow her dreams. “I’m really excited about it and I want to strike while the iron is hot. I want to get music out there as soon as I can,” she said.

It’s safe to say this isn’t the last time the world will hear from Brynn Cartelli.