For more than 20 seasons, NBC’s “The Voice” has delivered its wide-ranging audience a variety of up-and-coming singers across genres like folk, country, rock, pop and more. While the long-running music competition series has yet to catapult any one hopeful to superstardom à la Kelly Clarkson, a former coach on the show, who landed a record deal with RCA following her winning turn on the inaugural season of “American Idol,” it has churned out a steady stream of artists that have gone on to be nominated for Grammys, chart on the Billboard 100 and collaborate with some of the biggest artists worldwide.
In honor of the show’s upcoming Season 22 — which will debut on Sept. 19 and feature coaches Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton, John Legend and newcomer Camila Cabello — TheWrap highlights some of the most popular competitors on the series. Cue the chair choice sound effect!
Nicolle Galyon (Season 2 contestant)
While this two-time Grammy-nominated songwriter was eliminated during the show’s Battle Rounds, it was her turn on “The Voice” that helped her realize she wanted to pen tracks rather than sing them. During Season 2, she met fellow contestant RaeLynn and country star Miranda Lambert (who was then-married to Shelton), both of whom she credits as integral to launching her songwriting career. Galyon has written nearly 10 No. 1 hits, including “Automatic,” Lambert’s chart-topping lead single off of her critically acclaimed album “Platinum,” which led to her first Grammy nod for Best Country Song. In 2019, she landed her second Grammy nom in the same category for penning Dan + Shay’s “Tequila.” She has also written tracks for Keith Urban, Lady A, Florida Georgia Line, Martina McBride, Lucy Hale, Kenny Chesney, fellow “Voice” alum Danielle Bradbery (see her entry below) and Shelton.
Cassadee Pope (Season 3 winner)
Pope won Season 3 with coach Shelton and became the show’s first female champion. The country artist is perhaps the best-known success story from the series, releasing several charting and platinum singles and being nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for her duet “Think of You” with “Nashville Star” contestant and fellow singer Chris Young. Formerly the lead vocalist of rock band Hey Monday, she has since toured alongside country heavy hitters Maren Morris, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts and The Band Perry.
Loren Allred (Season 3 contestant)
Yup, another competitor from Season 3, a powerhouse year for “The Voice.” As a contestant on Team Levine, Allred made it to the first week of the live playoffs, where she was eliminated and eventually tied for 13th place. The singer-songwriter is best known for her smash hit track “Never Enough” from the Grammy-winning soundtrack for “The Greatest Showman,” which was later covered by artists like Clarkson and Jennifer Hudson. Since then, she’s joined Michael Bublé on the duet “Help Me Make It Through the Night” from his 2018 album “Love”; appeared alongside David Foster as part of his “An Intimate Evening” PBS concert special and toured with the famed Andrea Bocelli. Allred also finished ninth overall on “Britain’s Got Talent” Series 15, after garnering the Golden Buzzer.
Danielle Bradbery (Season 4 winner)
Bradbery became the youngest winner on “The Voice” at the age of 16, which was just the beginning of her successful country music career. Her self-titled debut album, released by Big Machine, peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard 200 chart, with her following project hitting No. 41. She has had several charting tracks, and her top song on Spotify — 2017’s “Sway” — has a whopping 59 million streams. Bradbery was also twice-nominated for the Academy of Country Music Awards. She was also featured in the soundtrack for 2019’s “Charlie’s Angels,” alongside top artists Normani, Nicki Minaj, Chaka Khan, Ariana Grande, Lana Del Rey, Miley Cyrus and more.
Morgan Wallen (Season 6 contestant)
The chart-topping and multi-platinum country singer-songwriter competed on “The Voice’s” sixth season. While initially on Usher’s team, he was later stolen by Adam Levine in the battle rounds. Even though he was later eliminated in the playoffs, Wallen eventually signed with Panacea Records and went on to garner numerous Academy of Country Music Award and Billboard Music Award nominations. His Billboard 200-topping “Dangerous: The Double Album” won him ACM Album of the Year in 2022. Despite numerous controversies — including an arrest for disorderly conduct, violations of COVID-19 policies and the video-documented use of a racial slur — Wallen has remained a mainstay in country music. Recently he was honored with the ACM Milestone Award.
Christina Grimmie (Season 6, third place)
The late pop singer was well on her way to national recognition prior to her third place finish on “The Voice” Season 6. Grimmie had already built a YouTube channel with two million subscribers, where she would post covers of hit tracks, leading her to eventually open for Selena Gomez & The Scene (for whom she also performed backing vocals), Allstar Weekend and the Jonas Brothers. She had also performed at the 2011 American Music Awards pre-show, led her own Disney web series and signed with CAA. Before she could continue in her career, the 22-year-old Grimmie was shot and killed after performing at The Plaza Live in Orlando in 2016. Her second and final album, “All Is Vanity,” was released posthumously in 2017.
Sawyer Fredericks (Season 8 winner)
During his time on “The Voice” as part of Williams’ team, Fredericks broke record after record for series iTunes sales each week. At 16, he became the youngest male winner of the show. His 2015 self-titled EP reached No. 2 on the Billboard folk chart and No. 49 on the Billboard 200. He repeated the feat with his 2016 album “A Good Storm.” He has had seven charting tracks on the Billboard 100, with his single “Please” reaching spot No. 37, as well as No. 3 on the Hot Rock chart. His fourth and latest album, “Flowers for You,” was released in 2020.
Koryn Hawthorne (Season 8, fourth place)
At age 17, Hawthorne came in fourth place on the eighth season of the competition show. The contemporary Christian and gospel singer was first a member of Christina Aguilera’s team and was later saved from elimination by Pharrell Williams. With her debut album “Unstoppable,” which topped Billboard’s Top Gospel Albums chart, she broke the record to become the longest chart-topping woman on the Hot Gospel Songs chart. Additionally, Hawthorne was back-to-back Grammy nominated in 2019 and 2020 for Best Gospel Performance/Song for tracks “Won’t He Do It” and “Speak the Name.” She is also a Soul Train Award and Billboard Music Award nominee.
Jordan Smith (Season 9 winner)
The contemporary Christian singer won Season 9 as a member of Levine’s team, where he made history by holding the top two spots on the Hot Christian Songs chart. A third cover of “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” held the No. 8 spot, making him the third artist to chart three tracks in the Top 10 simultaneously. Following his win, he also reached the No. 2 spot on the Billboard 200 with his debut album, “Something Beautiful.” His 2016 Christmas-themed LP, “‘Tis the Season,” also hit the chart at No. 11. Among his accomplishments is penning the “Deadpool 2” song “Ashes,” which was performed by Céline Dion.
