Asher HaVon, Sofronio Vasquez and Huntley pose for a photo following Tuesday’s finale on The Voice. (NBC Photo)
Kudos to The Voice for having its last two winners perform on Tuesday’s season finale.
Asher HaVon performed “Thankful,” a song he dedicated to coach Reba McEntire, his coach on Season 25.
And Season 24 champ Huntley performed “Skyline Drive,” a song he’s dedicated to his home state of Virgina.
Kudos to Asher and Huntley on how those performances were received.
Asher’s “Thankful” soared to number two on the Apple Music singer-songwriter singles chart after his performance aired.
It was still in that spot at of noon Thursday, more than 48 hours later.
Huntley’s “Skyline Drive” was one spot lower — number three on the same chart — at noon Wednesday.
Today at the same time, it was sitting at number four.
If you had checked out the Apple Music Top 200 singles chart prior to Tuesday’s finale on The Voice, you would have found neither song.
But by noon Wednesday, Asher’s “Thankful” was number 31. By noon Thursday, it was still number 38.
Huntley’s “Skyline Drive” was number 45 on the Top 200 at noon Wednesday, 78 at noon Thursday.
Does that mean either song will turn into a major hit? Nope.
Does it mean either will be played regularly on radio? Nope.
But thanks to those Voice performances, 5.71 million viewers know Asher and Huntley have new singles out.
And judging by the chart results on Apple Music alone, lots of those viewers liked what they heard.
Meanwhile, this is while I will never understand how The Voice approaches its guest performer list for the finale.
Tears for Fears, Riley Green and Myles Smith had prime performance spots. They have absolutely no connection to the show.
Past coaches Dan + Shay and Kelly Clarkson returned to perform. They don’t need that much help reaching fans.
Michael Buble and Snoop Doog took the stage. Don’t the coaches get enough facetime, enough publicity from being on the show? Besides, each was already performing with their finalists on the finale.
Why doesn’t every performance spot go to a former standout contestant with new music out? Do you know how many former Voice singers have released new holiday covers or entirely new holiday songs?
The answer: Easily enough for The Voice to stage a two-hour finale holiday concert filled with familiar faces from seasons past.
It seems like the least The Voice can do when it cycles through nearly 100 contestants a year. And reduces the shelf life of a new winner to six or seven months by airing twice a year.
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15 Comments
Great points again, Mark.
The legacy of “The Voice” will be about their coaches becoming household names, not any of the contestants.
Morgan Wallen and Loren Allred have done well in spite of “The Voice” not because of it.
The Voice Australia did away with the record deal this year.
https://themusic.com.au/industry/the-voice-reveals-there-is-no-record-deal-this-year/dH_KZmloa2o/16-08-24
I’m not surprised about that. The label doesn’t promote them after the show.
The music industry has evolved with social media and streaming platforms, which means that traditional routes to fame have shifted. Artists often build their careers independently, making it harder for talent show winners to emerge as household names.
I agree with you about that.
It says something that the only success stories from “American Idol” on ABC are Benson Boone and Lauren Spencer-Smith who built up their followings on their own.
Gabby Barrett has established herself as a strong country artist, and is the most successful contestant to emerge from the ABC era of American Idol.
An example I was thinking of is Tori Kelly. She gained popularity through YouTube.
Many “Idol” viewers thought that Gabby was going to win the season.
Tori was on “Idol” Season 9, but she didn’t make the Top 24.
Famous stars who were rejected by American Idol, The Voice, and X Factor.
https://www.kbaycountry.com/stars-who-were-rejected-by-american-idol/
Luke Combs and Lainey Wilson were rejected as well.
Some robbed “American Idol” semifinalists have done well for himself/herself.
Google the ones you like.
Actually, a better example of what Music Lover was referring to is Jay Dref. He’s a rising star in the classical crossover genre, who has been steadily gaining a following through social media. Sarah Brightman is helping to further boost his career by taking him with her on her recent Christmas tours.
An example I stumbled upon recently is Rob Wheeler. He’s from the UK and is establishing himself as a new voice in the alt-country and Americana scene.
Another example that I know of is The Last Arcade. They are a Liverpool based synthwave/retrowave trio. They have 8 singles released, over 200,000 streams worldwide, weekly international radio play, and recently released a debut album.
Even though many of the contestants from these shows may not be signed by major labels, there are benefits to them being indie artists. Being indie allows artists greater creative control over their music.
Some of the winners of The Voice who have parted ways with Universal, such as Sawyer Fredericks and Alison Porter, have said that they butted heads with Universal over the kind of music they wanted to do.
It’s the same way with most American Idol artists who have parted ways with the major labels they were signed to.
An example would be Chris Daughtry. He left RCA Records because he felt the label was pushing him to make softer-sounding music that didn’t align with his desire to create heavier, harder rock, which he felt was more authentic to his artistic vision. He has stated that he grew tired of making music he wasn’t passionate about due to label pressure to chase chart trends. He recently signed with Big Machine, which, based on the music he’s been putting out lately, has allowed him to return to his harder rock roots.