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How the newest 'Voice' winner cracked the 'glass ceiling' on the show

Alisan Porter is the newest winner on 'Voice,' and after being coached by Christina Aguilera, that makes her the first contestant coached by a woman to win the show.

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John Shearer/Invision/AP/File
'The Voice' judges Christina Aguilera (r.) and Adam Levine (l.) attend a red carpet event for 'The Voice' in Los Angeles in 2012.

A new winner has been named on "The Voice" and, with the champion, a new milestone for the show. 

Singer Alisan Porter is the newest winner on the NBC reality competition, triumphing over fellow contestants Hannah Huston, Laith Al-Saadi, and Adam Wakefield. She is also the first contestant to have been coached by a woman to win on the show.

Christina Aguilera, Ms. Porter's coach, has been intent on having one of her contestants break into the winner's circle on the show. 

"I'm in it to win it this time," she told Parade Magazine. "Break the girl curse." 

She had a good chance with Porter, who was already known to the public before appearing on "The Voice" through her role in the 1991 John Hughes film "Curly Sue."

The format of "Voice" involves each coach (a job title that was held this season by Ms. Aguilera, Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, and Pharrell Williams) being responsible for various contestants. 

In addition to a contestant that was advised by a female coach winning "Voice," there will be two female coaches on the program for the first time next fall. Singers Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys will reportedly take over for Mr. Williams and Aguilera next season. 

Mr. Levine and Mr. Shelton have been on the show since the beginning, but previous judges have included Gwen Stefani, CeeLo Green, and Shakira. 

Michael Slezak of TVLine pointed out that female coaches have statistically had less of a chance for their contestants to win the competition since there were fewer female coaches. 

"Lost in the show's repetition of that 'Girl Curse' stat is the fact that exec[utive] producer Mark Burnett & Co. have never allowed more than one lady to sit in a red spinning chair during a given cycle," Mr. Slezak wrote. "[Male coaches] have had three times as many chances."

The Season 10 finale of "Voice" also included performances by coach Christina Aguilera, Zayn Malik, the group Little Big Town, Sia, and Ariana Grande, among others. 

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