The 12 Most Successful ‘The Voice’ Contestants (& Where They Are Now)

It's easy to think that the most successful The Voice contestants have all been crowned winners—but this couldn't be further from the truth.

It's been incredible to see former champions, like Jordan Smith and Girl Named Tom, dominate the music scene—thanks in part to the show's epic lineup of coaches. However, we can't forget about the talented contestants and runners-up who've also built successful careers, like Morgan Wallen and Koryn Hawthorne, who has two Grammy nominations.

Now that season 24 is in full swing, we imagine that several other talented competitors will join their ranks. But for now, let's see what the most successful The Voice contestants have been up to.

1. Koryn Hawthorne 

• Season: 8
• How she finished: 4th runner-up

Hawthorne has been thriving since she competed on The Voice. The songstress released her debut album, Unstoppable, in July 2018, and it became a massive success. Her hit single, “Won’t He Do It,” topped three of Billboard's major gospel charts and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Gospel Performance/Song.

The singer went on to tour with fellow Christian artists Jeremy Camp and Matthew West, scoring nominations for seven Stellar Awards, two NAACP Image Awards and three Billboard Music Awards. In 2019, she received a second Grammy nod for Best Gospel Performance/Song for "Speak the Name," and in 2020, she released her sophomore album, I Am, which peaked at number one on Billboard's Top Gospel Albums Chart. In 2023, she dropped two new songs from her upcoming album, including "Cry" and "Look at God."

2. Melanie Martinez

• Season: 3
• How she finished:  Eliminated from top six

Chances are you’ve heard at least one hit song from her debut album, Cry Baby, from "Pity Party" to "Mrs. Potato Head.” In addition to catchy hits, the album also spawned a new fragrance called Cry Baby Perfume Milk and an exclusive lipstick line, launched in partnership with  Lime Crime, Inc.  

Martinez released her second album, K–12, along with a musical fantasy horror film that she wrote and directed, in 2019. Her most recent album, Portals, was released in March 2023. While chatting with Audacy about Portals, she said, “With this album, it's the most connected I've ever felt to my music, and I think I'm going to always feel connected to it because as a human, I can relate to it just as someone who is immortal and just learning and growing through life. That's the whole message of the album.”

3. Jordan Smith 

• Season: 9
• How she finished: Winner

Did you know that he's one of the highest-selling artists to ever compete on The Voice? The 30-year-old singer has been dominating the gospel music scene with his uplifting tracks, but he's best known for his cover of "Mary, Did You Know?" and "Hallelujah"—both of which topped Billboard's Christian Songs chart.

In 2018, he revealed that he wrote Celine Dion's "Ashes" for the Deadpool 2 soundtrack, and in 2022, he participated in the American Song Contest, where he came in third place. Now, he’s releasing holiday songs and touring with artists like Tauren Wells and Katy Nichole.

4. Morgan Wallen 

• Season: 6
• How she finished: Eliminated during the Playoffs

He may not have been crowned the winner of The Voice, but he’s certainly winning in the Country music industry. After the competition, Wallen released his debut EP, Stand Alone, in 2015, followed by three studio albums, including his latest release, One Thing at a Time. His accolades include fourteen Billboard Music Awards,  two American Music Awards and an Academy of Country Music Award.

While discussing his most recent album, Wallen told ET Online, “It feels different because I'm in a different place than I was in the last ones, so I'm really proud of it.”

5. Cassadee Pope 

• Season: 3
• How she finished: Winner

After becoming the first female winner of The Voice, Pope went on to take the country music industry by storm. After releasing her debut solo album, Frame by Frame, she released two more albums and scored a Grammy nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for “Think of You” in 2017. However, she has since shifted from country to pop-punk. She told Icon vs. Icon, "Pop and rock music is such a staple in my creativity so to fully return back to that genre feels special and like coming back home."

In 2023, she released two new singles, including "People That I Love Leave" and a pop-punk version of "Wasting All These Tears."

6. Girl Named Tom

• Season: 21
• How she finished: Winners

They made history as the first trio to win The Voice, but it’s safe to say this is just the beginning. The siblings have since released a holiday album, called One More Christmas, and the title track peaked at number one on the iTunes Charts. They’ve also toured with Pentatonix for their A Christmas Spectacular tour in 2022. (NBD.)

In 2022, the siblings appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss their victory and upcoming projects. Caleb said, “We have this platform now, that we never could've dreamed of, and we've been writing during Covid, in our little house in South Bend. We've got some great music, and we can't wait to share it.”

7. Nicolle Galyon 

• Season: 2
• How she finished: Eliminated during the Battle Rounds

Coach Adam Levine took a chance on Gaylon when she auditioned in season two, and while she didn’t get the title, she did walk away with powerful new connections that helped her launch a successful career as a songwriter. To date, she has written songs for Miranda Lambert, Lady A, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and Dan + Shay. Still, Gaylon felt inspired to tell her own story by releasing a record of her own, called Firstborn, in 2022.

She told People, “I started thinking to myself that if I was gone tomorrow and my grandkids Googled me, would me writing a song about a 22-year-old breaking up with her boyfriend the story I wanted them to know? Is that the story that my kids would know about me? I felt like I had to call bulls--- on myself. I couldn't call myself a storyteller if I hadn't told my own yet."

8. Sawyer Fredericks 

• Season: 8
• How she finished: Winner

The former Team Pharrell member immediately landed a record deal after his win and has since released three albums, including Flowers for You and Hide Your Ghost. His song, “Silent World,” was featured on the season six premiere of Netflix’s original series Longmire. 

Fredericks's latest EP, The Golden Tree, debuted in February 2023, and he still does live shows.

9. Loren Allred

• Season: 3
• How she finished: Eliminated in the Playoffs

If you've seen The Greatest Showman, then you're probably familiar with Allred's platinum-selling song, "Never Enough." In fact, Michael Bublé discovered Allred while watching the film and collaborated with her for a duet of "Help Me Make it Through the Night." In a behind-the-scenes video about the track, Bublé revealed that Allred has "the most beautiful voice and control," adding that she was “more than I could've ever hoped for.”

Additionally, she released her debut EP, Late Bloomer, in September 2021, and she has collaborated with artists like David Foster and Michael Mott.

10. Brynn Cartelli 

• Season: 14
• How she finished: Winner

Cartelli has come a long way since she won the competition at 15 years old. After signing with Atlantic Records, she toured with her former coach, Kelly Clarkson, and released her debut EP, Based on a True Story, in May 2021.

In February 2023, Cartelli released “Second Hand Smoke” and directed the music video for the song. She told Mass Live, ​​“I’m really proud of it, it’s such an amazing thing to build visual worlds for songs. It’s so special. And it’s something that I’ve absolutely fallen in love with, almost as much as I love songwriting itself. There’s so many little details and so many hidden messages in all of my videos that I love, whether they’re personal or whether fans pick up on it, it’s beautiful to take it to that type of medium.”

11. Danielle Bradbery

• Season: 4
• How she finished: Winner

After her victory, Bradbery released two albums, including Danielle Bradbery and I Don't Believe We've Met. She has also covered quite a few hit songs, like Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain," and in 2019, her song "Blackout" was featured in the motion picture soundtrack for Charlie's Angels. In 2023, she headlined the A Special Place Tour, and she has a docuseries called My Human Diary.

While discussing her growth as an artist, she told Hollywood Life, “I have been through a lot of stages of my career. And I mean, starting at 16, such a vulnerable age…I feel like no matter what, you’re always going to be learning, evolving. That’s life. We’re human, that’s what happens. But those are such fragile years, and it’s been a rollercoaster ride of figuring out who I am and things that I love and now have outgrown.”