New Jersey native finishes 2nd on ‘The Voice’

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) -- Country fans have spoken again.

Craig Wayne Boyd, the country rocker from Blake Shelton's team, was named the winner of "The Voice" Tuesday.

Boyd is the third country singer to win the NBC sing-off.

The father from Nashville, Tennessee, was up against three finalists from Adam Levine's team: Runner-up Matt McAndrew, a native of Barnegat, Chris Jamison, who took third place and Damien Lawson, who nabbed fourth.

This is the fourth win for country star Shelton.

"We went into this thing with the odds stacked against us," Shelton said Tuesday during a post-finale news conference. "Will I rub it in Adam's face? He may quit the show before I'm done rubbing this in his face!"

Boyd told reporters of his struggles to make ends meet while pursuing his dreams.

"It truly feels like validation that all the hard work that I put in up to this point has been worth it. I remember more than a year ago ... saying `listen I may have to quit because it's not paying my bills. I'm losing my house, lost my pickup.' I didn't know what I was going to do."

Boyd wins a record deal and the $100,000 grand prize.

Jennifer Hudson, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Jessie J, Meghan Trainor and Hozier performed during the two-hour finale.

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