Below is a look at albums and EPs released by former contestants on The Voice so far in 2016.
If I’ve missed anyone, please drop a line to Voice Views at [email protected] or @VoiceViews on Twitter to let me know. There have been more than 400 singers on the first nine seasons of The Voice, so I’d be amazed if I’ve caught all the new music.
Happy listening! And check back for live blogs throughout Season 10.
See also
2016 singles by singers from The Voice
2016 videos by singers from The Voice
2015 albums and EPs by singers from The Voice
2015 singles by singers from The Voice
2015 videos by singers from The Voice
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“A Good Storm”
Released: May 13, 2016
Finish: 1st, Season 8
Curiously, the debut album from the teen who ran away with The Voice Season 8 crown features only six new songs since four of the tunes here were on an EP released in November. The best of the new tracks from the rootsy singer-songwriter: “This Fire,” “Not Coming Home” and “Shots Fired.” Sawyer’s previously released duet with Season 8 colleague Mia Z called “Stranger” remains the album’s standout track.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Onward” EP
Released: May 9, 2016
Finish: Battle round, Season 9
The first post-show offering from a California gal who turned four chairs with her blind audition, this four-song EP was produced by fellow Team Gwen Stefani member Tim Atlas. “Nothin’ On Me,” which Lyndsey dubbed “the perfect kiss-off song” was the single and she delivers a lovely vocal on a ballad called “Sweet Serendipity.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Constellation”
Released: May 6, 2016
Finish: 4th, Season 2
Chris’ first post-Voice album (“Roads” from 2012) was chock full of covers. Here, the classically trained vocalist intentionally turns the focus to self-penned tunes and provides plenty of highlights, from mid-tempo numbers like “Comeback” and “Rain Like This” to ballads like “Echo,” “Fly Me to the Moon” and “Love and War.” Oh, since Chris was leading the lead on the U.S. tour of “Phantom of the Opera” at the time, there is one cover — “Music of the Night.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“By the Fans, For the Fans”
Released: May 5, 2016
Finish: Knockout round, Season 9
“Blind Joe” Bommersbach took down all his pre-Voice music, then released this 12-track album that includes new recordings of his three covers from The Voice, studio versions of a couple of originals and live tracks from some of his shows. Beware: the latter are rough and include a tasteless tribute to Carrie Underwood. The album highlights: “Pity Don’t Get Ya Paid” and “Drinkin’ Your Memory Off My Mind.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Eclectic Electric”
Released: April 25, 2016
Finish: Battle round, Season 3
The guy from Minneapolis, who also placed in the Top 16 on Season 14 of American Idol, delivers a 12-track album following a successful Pledge Music campaign. It includes two versions of a delightfully fun song called “Stopping for Green Lights,” and a reworking of the superb “Not Cold But Broken” from his pre-singing show days. You’ll also want to check out “Murphy’s Harp.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Gravity”
Released: April 15, 2016
Finish: Winner, Season 1
This marks Javier’s first album since 2011’s “Come Through for You,” which was his post-Voice debut. Javier says “Gravity” “really represents who I am as an artist better than anything I’ve ever done.” The title track is superb (video below). So is a ballad called “The Hard Way.” Other tracks you’ll definitely want to check out: “Giant,” “Clear the Air” and “Walking Blind.” The 13-track album also includes Javier’s cover of “Hallelujah.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“State of Mind”
Released: April 8, 2016
Finish: Top 12, Season 4
With lyrics like “runnin’ through these bitches like Rambo” on a song called “Rambo,” the high-pitched yikes at the opening of a couple of songs on this six-track EP is entirely appropriate. There’s nothing here as catchy as the best tracks (like “I’m on It”) off Vedo’s 2015 album, “93.” The only track without explicit lyrics is at right.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Artemisa” EP
Released: April 7, 2016
Finish: Top 8, Season 1
The second EP from Xenia takes on more of a singer-songwriter vibe than her very pop sounding “Sing You Home” from late 2011. The standout tracks are the superb “Window Pain,” released last year as a single, and “Hold Me,” the closing number on the five-track project. As for that title — Xenia Edith Martinez says she named the EP after her grandmother.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Where the Ocean Shallows”
Released: April 1, 2016
Finish: Season 7, Top 20
Taylor serves up a 12-track alternative rock album that he calls “the best project I’ve ever been a part of.” It could, however, use a few more tunes that stick with you after a first listen. Standout tracks include “Desire,” “Long Way Down” and the superb “Harvest the Moon,” which was released as a single last summer.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Something Beautiful”
Released: March 18, 2016
Finish: 1st Season 9
Released just three months after his victory, this album marked the quickest turn-around ever by a winner of The Voice. It also set records for best Billboard 200 debut (#2) and first-week sales (54,000). Fans who loves what Jordan did on the show will likely love the album because it includes covers of classics like “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Amazing Grace.” Fans looking for a glimpse of Jordan Smith as an original artist will be left wanting. The 12 tracks include just four originals, one of which Jordan co-wrote. Particularly odd is Jordan singing “I gotta be a little crazy” on “Got to be Me.” There’s nothing at all crazy about the album, though Jordan’s voice remains remarkable.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Anytime Anywhere” EP
Released: Feb. 26, 2016
Finish: Top 20, Season 9
Veteran musician Keith Semple traveled to Nashville to record his first post-Voice EP, and you can certainly hear the country influence on the five-track collection, especially the ballads “The First Time” and “Take Me Home.” The latter is a highlight on the EP along with the catchy and addictive title track and the rollicking “Taking My Chances on Tennessee.” Just try to avoid tapping your toes to that one.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Sessions Volume 1: Sun Studio” EP
Released: Feb. 26, 2016
Finish: 3rd, Season 2
New versions of three previously released songs from Tony, recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis earlier this year. The collection includes “Anchored” from his 2010 “Rendevous with the Angels” album and “Delilah” and “Smoke ‘Em” from his self-titled album from January 2015. Tony calls them “some of my most inspired recordings to date.” The new version of “Anchored” (starts at 2:25 mark in video) sure qualifies.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Son of a Working Man”
Released: Feb. 23, 2016
Finish: Knockout Round, Season 8
A standout debut country album from a 21-year-old who calls West Virginia home. Among the 12 tracks, Cody includes a cover of George Jones’ “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” the song that helped him turn four chairs on The Voice. But most impressive are the 10 originals, as Cody flexes great range from a country rocker like “Addicted to You” to a ballad like “Better Off” to a fun drinking song called “Three Tequila, Floor.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Side A” EP
Released: Feb. 21, 2016
Finish: 3rd place, Season 6
“Side A” must stand for addictive, because this is one of the best pop EPs we’ve gotten from a former contestant on The Voice. All four tracks are winners and Christina sounds amazing on her first major release since appearing on the show. “Snow White” was the first song released and the first scheduled for a video treatment. Christina: Can we have a “Side B?” Soon? Pretty please.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Stratospheric”
Released: Feb. 16, 2016
Finish: Battle Round, Season 9
Pharrell Williams called Manny’s voice “stratospheric” at one point in Season 9, so the veteran rocker borrowed the term as the title of his first-show EP. And Manny rocks outs on a EP that he describes as “my passion placed nicely in a 4-song package.” But the vocal highlight is a power ballad called “Waiting.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Maybe Monday” EP
Released: Feb. 1, 2016
Finish: Top 16, Season 4
A solid five-track county EP from a guy who just missed the finals on Season 4. Pre-Voice, Justin was part of a Dove Award winning and a Grammy-nominated Christian group called Austins Bridge. Highlights on his second solo EP — following 2013’s six-track “Love for Livin'” — include the catchy “When I Won’t Love,” about a guy endlessly devoted to his gal, and the fun-loving “Cheap Seats.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Timeless” EP
Released: Jan. 29, 2016
Finish: 3rd, Season 4
This six-track EP marks a solid followup to a successful debut album from the most successful duo ever to appear on The Voice. Top tracks include the ridiculously catchy title song, “Just Another Girl” and “Killing Me.” The EP’s release was timed to coincide with the brothers’ prize gig as an opening act on Carrie Underwood’s “Storyteller” tour. The EP debuted at number 19 on Billboard’s country albums chart.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Have a Nice Day”
Released: Jan. 29, 2016
Finish: Top 10, Season 7
Reagan was just 15 when she auditioned for Season 7 of The Voice, and she sounds much older than her years on this sophomore effort, which follows a pre-show album from 2013 (“Remedy”). The R&B / soul influences are also much more apparent on this eight-song collection. Highlights include “Waterfalls,” “Breaking the Bank” and “Lullaby.” Unfortunately, none of the songs are as memorable as Reagan’s 2015 single “Blue.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Live Sessions No. 1”
Released: Jan. 19, 2016
Finish: 11th, Season 9
Upon his elimination from The Voice, Evan said he was ready to hit the ground running, with about two albums worth of material ready for release. This seven-song collection came about a month after Season 9 ended. Highlights include “A Chance You Ought to Take” and “Never Get Enough.” If there’a drawback to the album, it’s that there’s no a lot of diversity on the singer-songwriter album.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Grayspaces”
Released: Jan. 19, 2016
Finish: Season 7, Knockout round
Just 16 when he auditioned for The Voice, this four-track R&B EP marks the first original music from Grant, who says on his website that he hopes it serves as a launchpad for a move back to L.A. to work and an A-list producer. The highlight is a ballad called “Forever on My Mind,” embedded at right.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
Matt Snook
“Guitars, Girls, Green Grass and Guns” EP
Released: Jan. 5, 2016
Finish: Battle round, Season 8
The first post-show release from a prolific country singer who auditioned for The Voice at age 41 and already had three EPs to his credit. Highlights here include the fun-loving title track and a pair of ballads, “A Book Judged by Its Cover” and the especially impressive “Jesus and Jones.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
“Muzic is Life”
Released: Jan. 5, 2016
Finish: Top 20, Season 8
The first post-show album from Tonya, who was 35 when she auditioned for The Voice and advanced all the way to the live playoffs. It’s an 13-track R&B/soul collection, but with Tonya being from New Orleans, it’s also marked by heavy jazz influences. Says Tonya: “This baby has been brewing for six years.” Highlights include the funky “Music All Over the World” and a pair of ballads, “Destiny” and “Wish You Well.”
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
2 Comments
Owen Danoff (Season 10), “Love on Your Side”
Nicholas David “With These Hands”