NBC’s “The Voice” has firmly established itself as not just a leader in the reality singing competition genre but as a ratings juggernaut in TV in general. But does all that attention translate into success for each season’s eventual winner?
Eight talented vocalists have taken home the $100,000 prize and a record deal with Universal Music Group that comes with being crowned Voice Champion since the show started in 2011, and Sundance Head was just named the season 11 winner.
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As Head and his fans celebrate, Metro asks: What’s happened to the winners of the previous seasons? Once the finale airs and the winner is announced, do they disappear after that? Let’s take a look back and find out what was in store for these winning contestants.
Where are the winners of The Voice now?
Season 1: Javier Colon
Colon won the inaugural season of “The Voice,” charming America with his humility and spellbinding vocals. After the show, Javier released his album “Come Through for You” in Nov. 2011 with his debut single, “As Long As We Got Love,” featuring Natasha Bedingfield.
The album also includes “Stand Up,” a song featuring his mentor on “The Voice,” Adam Levine. A year after winning the show, the singer announced his departure from the record label on Buddy TV, saying there was a lack of support for his album.
He told Buddy, “I went in with high hopes, as I believe everyone did. But when you pour your heart and soul into a new album that you think is really great, and your label who is supposed to support, market and promote your music does neither, it’s really hard not to be upset.” In 2014 he signed with Concord Music group, with a new album reportedly on the way.
Season 2: Jermaine Paul
The Huffington Post called Jermaine Paul a “legend in the making.” The R&B singer won the second season of “The Voice” and was anticipated to reinvent R&B.
But where is Jermaine now? His winning cover song of”I Believe I Can Fly” made its way to the No. 83 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. But his following song, “Soul Man,” featuring his coach, Blake Shelton, did not.
Jermaine has been featured in many of Alicia Keys’ songs, such as “Diary” and “If This World Were Mine,” and was even featured in Kanye West’s “Gold Digger”; however, the artist has yet to release an album.
Season 3: Cassadee Pope
Looks like luck after “The Voice” turned around for Cassadee Pope, former lead vocalist of Hey Monday and winner of Season 3.
Less than a week after winning “The Voice,” Cassadee owned the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Heatseekers Songs’ chart. Her album “Frame by Frame” was released in 2013 by Republic Nashville.
The country singer/songwriter has already appeared on “Today,” “Live! with Kelly and Michael” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” and performed with Train on “New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly.” Pope spent much of 2014 and 2015 touring with country artists like Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley and Darius Rucker. While there’s no word on new music from Pope right now, she did turn up on Chris Young’s “I’m Comin’ Over” album this year for a duet on “Think of You,” and she and Young will be hitting the road next year.
Season 4: Danielle Bradbery
Seventeen-year-old Danielle Bradbery used to hold the record as the youngest “Voice” winner ever before being usurped by Sawyer Fredericks. Bardbery earned great tribute for her performances on the show, such as “Maybe It Was Memphis,” “Born To Fly” and “Timber, I’m Falling in Love.”
Her former coach, Blake Shelton, called her “the most important artist to ever walk ‘The Voice’ stage.” With praise like that, Bradbery had some big cowgirl boots to fill and she delivered. The day after winning the show, Bradbery signed a deal with Big Machine Records. She released her first single “Heart of Dixie” in July 2013, and her first studio album, the self-titled “Danielle Bradbery,” in November of that year.
Her song “My Day” was featured in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, as she was chosen to be “the voice” of the Games’ promotional campaign. Bradbery then joined Hunter Hayes on his “We’re Not Invisible” tour for the rest of 2014. Earlier this year, Bradberry announced she is working on a new album, releasing her first single from it, the much more pop-influenced “Friend Zone,” in August.
Season 5: Tessanne Chin
During season 5, Chin version of the Simon & Garfunkle’s classic “Bridge Over Troubled Water” became the first song in “Voice” history to become the No. 1 song on the iTunes chart.
After her victory, Tessanne debuted her first single, “Tumbling Down,” written by Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. Since the show, Chin has kept busy. She was named Caribbean Journal’s 2013 Artist of the Year, premiered on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” performed in the Rose Bowl Parade and even played at the White House.
In the summer of 2014, while on tour with other “The Voice” winners, Chin released her debut album, “Count on my Love,” on Republic Records. The album sold 7,000 copies in it first week, the lowest of any “Voice” winner, and the show and label received criticism for not doing more to promote it. Chin has since moved on to work with new label Justice League Music Group and is working on a new album.
Season 6: Josh Kaufman
When Josh Kaufman won “The Voice” in May 2014, he set a lot of show records — the first member of Team Usher to win, the first contestant stolen by one coach from another to win (he used to be Team Adam), the first white male winner and the oldest contestant to win.
The Indianapolis-based married father of three has spent most of his post-“Voice” time performing around his home state, and he even appeared on Broadway in “Pippin” up until the show closed earlier this year. He says he’s gearing up for the release of a full-length album, but no release date has been set.
Season 7: Craig Wayne Boyd
Country singer Boyd took Team Blake to victory a year ago, giving coach Shelton the most winners in the show’s history, with four out of seven. After winning, Boyd immediately signed with Universal Republic and Dot Records, with plans to put out an album sometime in 2015. But by March he had parted ways with Dot. He was in the studio by April, though, with work on the record said to be underway.
There’s word of a forthcoming single, titled “I’m Still Here,” sometime in 2015, but no date has been confirmed. He did, however, just put out a Christmas single, his own rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” which is available now.
Season 8: Sawyer Fredericks
At 16 years old, Season 8’s champ — the one with the long hair and the penchant for bowler hats — is still the youngest winner in the series’ history. He also set iTunes sales records during his run on the show earlier this year. The homeschooled youngest of three kids had a strong penchant for folk and busking but chose Pharrell Williams as his coach — which obviously worked out for him.
So where is he now? Well, it’s still a bit early to ask, as he only won the show six months ago. He immediately signed with Republic Records and performed live throughout the summer. He’s at work on his first post-“Voice” album, which will include a song written by Ray LaMontagne.
Season 9: Jordan Smith
Team Adam took home another victory on Season 9 with Jordan Smith, who took home the top prize. But where is he now? The Kentucky native returned to “The Voice” this past November to sing “O Holy Night,” one of the holiday favorites on his new Christmas album, “Tis the Season.”
Season 10: Alisan Porter
The winner of Season 10, Alisan Porter, was another Team Adam success. The former child star appeared in the John Hughes movie “Curly Sue” but also went through a dark period of alcohol addiction.
Fans did not see Alisan Porter perform on “The Voice” for season 10, so what has she been up to?
The mother of two is active on social media but doesn’t have nearly the number of followers as Jordan Smith. She recently started a new YouTube series called #AskAli and is also singing at various events but that is all that is known at this point.
Season 11: Sundance Head
Sundance Head won Season 11 of “The Voice” but what has he been up to since last year? According to Bustle, the 38-year-old country singer met with a record label in last December and told them that he wanted to continue writing original songs. In February he announced on his Facebook page that he signed with Republic Records. Although he has yet to release any new music under his new record label, his fans will be happy to know that he’s still busy making music and is currently on tour with Blake Shelton.
Season 12: Chris Blue
Knoxville native Chris Blue won season 12 of The Voice. The now 28-year-old singer made show history when he was the last artist selected in the blind audition process. Today he is married and has a family and still performs.
Season 13: Chloe Kohanski
Nashville’s Chloe Kohanski was the winner of season 13 of The Voice. During an interview with Parade, she revealed that she never set out to audition for the show. According to Kohanski, she was performing in Nashville when someone got her contact information and reached out to her asking her if she wanted to audition for The Voice. She is currently signed to Republic Records and in June 2018, the singer released a video for her song “Come This Far.”
Season 14: Brynn Cartelli
Singer Brynn Cartelli took home the grand prize at the end of The Voice season 14. She is currently signed with Atlantic Records and promises her fans that “big things” are coming in 2019. Her latest single, “Last Night’s Mascara” is the first song on her new label and is available on all music streaming services.
Chevel Shepherd
Chevel Shepherd is the 2018 winner of the voice. The 16-year-old singer from La Plata, New Mexico is one of the youngest contestants to win the singing competition.
