When Blake Shelton left The Voice after season 23, he left his mark as the longest-running coach on the singing competition with the most winning contestants since the show premiered in 2011.
Videos by American Songwriter
A Voice coach for 23 seasons, Shelton helped direct singers through the Battles, Knockouts, and Finals and ultimately guided nine contestants to the winner’s circle.
Many of Shelton’s winners have continued making music since winning the top honor on The Voice. Here’s a look at Shelton’s nine Voice winners from seasons two through 22 and where they are now.
1. Jermaine Paul (Season 2)
Though Adam Levine‘s team won season one of The Voice with Javier Colon, Shelton started his on-and-off (and mostly on) winning streak in 2012 in the second season with Jermaine Paul. Prior to joining The Voice, Paul already earned two Grammy nominations for his vocals on Alicia Keys‘ 2003 song “Diary” and “If This World Were Mine” from the 2005 Luther Vandross All-Star Tribute Album.
Paul, who spent eight years on the road with Keys as a backup singer, first captured the coaches’ attention with a cover of Avril Lavigne‘s 2002 hit “Complicated” during his Blind Audition and continued to showcase his diversity as an artist from there taking on performances of “I Believe I Can Fly,” “Get Outta My Dreams,” “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “Open Arms,” “Against All Odds,” along with “Soul Man” and “God Gave Me You.”
Though the Harriman, New York native hasn’t released much new music outside of a series of singles, including “Water” in 2019, he has also remained busy focused on family and heading his company Jermaine Paul Entertainment.
In 2022, Paul performed “Diary” with Keys at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
2. Cassadee Pope (Season 3)
After winning The Voice in 2012, Cassadee Pope released her debut Frame By Frame in 2013, which debuted at No. 9 on the Billboard 200. Her single “Wasting All These Tears” also went to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and made the top 40 of the Hot 100.
The Florida native, and former vocalist of the rock group Hey Monday, first performed Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 hit “Torn” for her Blind Audition, which earned her a four-chair turn. Throughout the course of her time on The Voice, Pope also sang “Payphone,” “Over You,” “Are You Happy Now?,” “Stand,” “My Happy Ending,” “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” and “Steve McQueen,” among many other songs, which ultimately lead to her winning the third season.
In 2015, Pope joined Chris Young for a duet on “I’m Comin’ Over,” the title track of his album. She also released two independent albums—Stages and Thrive—in 2019, along with her 2020 EP Rise and Shine, and her most recent single “People That I Love Leave” in 2023.
3. Danielle Bradbery (Season 4)
Only 16 years old when she won The Voice, Danielle Bradbery has continued making country music since her crowing moment. Signed to Big Machine Records, the Texas native has released three albums, including her self-titled debut in 2013, I Don’t Believe We’ve Met in 2017, which included the single “Goodbye Summer,” featuring Thomas Rhett, and her 2022 release In Between: The Collection.
Bradbery also released several additional singles throughout the years and has toured with Kane Brown, Brad Paisley, Hunter Hayes, and Miranda Lambert, among others within the decade since winning The Voice.
4. Craig Wayne Boyd (Season 7)
Shelton had a dry spell for a few seasons with Levine and Usher‘s teams winning seasons five and six, respectively. By season seven, Shelton had another winner on his hands with country singer Craig Wayne Boyd. Born in Dallas, Texas, and based in Nashville, Tennessee, Boyd already had two albums out by the time he auditioned on The Voice, including his 2008 self-titled debut and I Ain’t a Quitter from 2013.
Moving to Nashville at 25, Boyd worked mostly as a songwriter and began touring with Brantley Gilbert, Jamey Johnson, and others earlier in his career. On The Voice, Boyd dazzled the coaches with his renditions of “Walk the Line,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Take It Easy,” “Workin’ Man Blues,” “Boots On,” and many others throughout the competition.
In 2017, Boyd released his third album Top Shelf, followed by From The Inbetween, and has continued touring as a solo artist after briefly joining the country trio Texas Hill.
5. Sundance Head (Season 11)
Before competing on The Voice in 2016, Sundance Head (Jason “Sundance” Head) was a semi-finalist on the sixth season of American Idol in 2007. Nearly a decade later, Head took Team Blake to the top after captivating Shelton and the coaches with his performances of Otis Redding‘s 1965 hit “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” during his Blind Audition.
He later hit the target with powerful performances of Miley Cyrus‘ “The Climb,” Alicia Keys’ “No One,” and The Judds‘ “Love Can Build a Bridge,” among others.
Head has consistently released new music and has a catalog of four albums from 2016 & Gruene in 2012, Soul Country in 2015, and Stained Glass and Neon in 2019, through his 2022 album Starting Again.
6. Chloe Kohanski (Season 13)
When Chloe Kohanski was competing on The Voice in 2017, she captured Shelton’s attention with her entrancing cover of Fleetwood Mac‘s Rumours classic “The Chain” during her Blind Audition. Throughout the competition, Kohanski kept wowing the coaches with another Fleetwood Mac cover “Landslide,” along with performances of Cyndi Lauper‘s “Time After Time,” the 1972 Helen Reddy classic “I Am Woman,” and more.
Now known as chloe mk, the singer has released her 2019 EP Fantasy and 2021 album All the Same All Ok in 2021, along with her 2022 single “My Other Friend.”
In 2023, Kohanski returned to The Voice during the 23rd season for a performance with CeeLo Green and former Team Blake members for a special tribute during the coach’s final episode.
7. Todd Tilghman (Season 18)
Singing in the church since he was 8 years old, in 2020, Todd Tilghman became the oldest contestant to win The Voice. The then 42-year-old Meridian, Mississippi pastor joined Team Blake after his Blind Audition of the 1983 Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton duet “We’ve Got Tonight.”
He continued delivering powerhouse performances of “Glory of Love,” “I Can Only Imagine,” “Ghost in This House” and more. In the end, Tilghman won The Voice from his home as the show was filmed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tilghman has continued releasing singles since his Voice victory, including “Still to Come,” “Goodness of God,” “Dig My Grave,” and “Blood, Sweat, & Tears” in 2023.
8. Cam Anthony (Season 20)
R&B singer Cam Anthony first gained attention as a child singer performing on The Ellen Show and at the White House under the Barack Obama administration.
During his blind audition, Anthony won a spot on Team Blake with his performance of Sam Smith‘s 2014 hit “Lay Me Down” during the Blind Audition. From there he continued giving explosive performances of “Take Me To Church,” “Feeling Good,” “Stand Up,” and more before winning the show.
Since winning season 20 of The Voice in 2021, the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native was signed to Republic Records and released his single “Keep It Between Us” in 2023.
9. Bryce Leatherwood (Season 22)
Country crooner Bryce Leatherwood was Shelton’s final Voice winner before then-new coach Niall Horan swooped in with an inaugural season 23 win with Gina Miles in 2022.
The Woodstock, Georgia native wowed Shelton with his Blind Audition performance of Conway Twitty‘s 1988 song “Goodbye Time.” Continuing to masterfully sing through songs like “Amarillo by Morning,” “I’m Gonna Be Somebody,” “Let Me Down Easy,” “Sand in My Boots,” and “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” among others, Leatherwood ended up beating runner-up Bodie for the top prize.
Still living in Statesboro, Georgia after graduating from Georgia Southern University, Leatherwood plans to make the move to Nashville to focus on his music. In the meantime, Leatherwood has been warming up, playing at several of coach Shelton’s Ole Red bar chain locations, and released his debut single “The Finger” in 2023.
Photo by Larry Busacca/WireImage
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.