Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Voice is celebrating its 20th season this spring.

And I’ve decided to celebrate too, by shining a spotlight on my all-time favorite post-Voice music.

Please note that I’m not labeling these songs as “the best” post-Voice music. That’s simply too dependent on musical tastes.

These are my favorites, songs that make me smile or move me every time I listen.

I hope you’ll celebrate these artists with me. After all, they’re the ones who have made The Voice worth watching since the show premiered April 26, 2011.

Editor’s Note: There’s also a Spotify playlist I’ll be updating weekly. Just search for Celebrating 20 Seasons of The Voice.

Gigi Rich, “Still Want You”

She was 18-year-old Gianna Salvato on Season 7 of The Voice, Post-show, she shortened her stage name to Gigi Rich, then released this great song in 2017 as part of her debut EP, “All in My Head.” She wrote the song herself. “It’s about breaking things off with your first love and trying to figure out life without them,” she told Voice Views. “When someone has been a part of your life for so long and in such an important way, it’s hard to not still want them around even after things ended.” From New Jersey, but now based in Cali, the new music hasn’t ended for Gigi. She released three singles in 2020 (be sure to check out “Another Life”) and has posted promising demos for three more she’s written on her Instagram so far in 2021. She also recently celebrated the ninth anniversary of those red locks, writing “I will literally be 86 years old and be red. I am 10,000 percent sure of it.”
Gigi’s Instagram. Gigi Rich on Apple Music. Gigi Rich on Spotify.

Angela Wolff, “Honeybee”

Angela Wolff appeared on Season 1 of The Voice, a 25-year-old from Metter, Ga., who secured the very last spot on the show, then was pitted against eventual champ Javier Colon in the battle round. Four years later, she resurfaced with a debut EP. In between, she heard lots of no’s. “I realized, after all this time I’d been spending in the music industry and all this effort I was putting out there, I didn’t actually write my own songs and sing my own songs from a completely pure place of just me, on piano, just doing it. So I just sat down and started writing, writing, writing.” Five songs wound up on that impressive EP, including this magical vocal. She dubbed the EP “Surrender and Release” because she was releasing the songs into the world. Since then, Angela married fellow musician Brian Gibson, a cellist and guitarist who toured with the late Chris Cornell. They have a young daughter named Aria. And they’re now releasing music together as The Waking Hour, with their latest release being a 2020 cover of “Never Walk Alone.”
Angela’s Instagram.Angela Wolff on Apple Music. Angela Wolff on Spotify. The Waking Hour on Apple Music. The Waking Hour on Spotify.

Brooke Stephenson, “That Kind of Love”

Brooke Stephenson from Season 17 has released an impressive and diverse collection of singles since appearing on the show. Her soulful vocals and heartfelt delivery made this a wonderful debut. She wrote the song solo, inspired by an interview Oprah did with Goldie Hawn. “It illustrates the kind of crap I’m not going to take in a relationship, haha,” she told Voice Views. “It’s about empowerment and not settling when it comes to finding your partner in life. It’s also about two people being the best version of themselves they can be on their own, and then coming together.” Brooke said she picked it as her post-Voice debut “because I loved the groove and the gospel choir, and the empowerment of the song.” More great music has followed, ranging from country (“Casanova”) to a song inspired by Led Zeppelin (“That State That I’m In”). Brooke turned soulful again on “Cry To Me,” released earlier this month, and plans to drop her debut EP on May 14. Don’t miss it.
Brooke’s Instagram. Brooke Stephenson on Apple Music. Brooke Stephenson on Spotify.

Fousheé, “Deep End”

Talk about a musical fairy tail. This one started out frustrating for Fousheé. But it has a happy ending. It all started when Sleepy Hollow recorded a rap using Fousheé’s hook as a backdrop. And it blew up. First on TikTok, then to the tune of 150 million streams on Spotify. But no one knew it was Fousheé at first. So the Season 15 contestant from The Voice took to TikTok herself, singing that hook as proof and writing: “The irony of this is, I’m actually the original singer in this song, but nobody knows or believes me. And it’s legit making me go off the deep end.” Well, folks figured it out. Now Foushee’s extended version of “Deep End” has surpassed the original in popularity on Spotify (157 million streams and counting). What’s more, three follow-up singles have a combined 6 million streams, she’s collaborated with Lil Wayne and Billboard named her its R&B Rookie of the Month earlier this year. Not bad for a singer who failed to make it past the battle round on The Voice.
Fousheé’s Instagram. Fousheé on Apple Music. Fousheé on Spotify.

PXTN, “Barricade”

He was Paxton Ingram on The Voice, where he finished Top 8 and where the show required him to use a first and last name. But he went back to his preferred stage name when releasing most of his post-show music. This song was the lead track off his 2016 debut EP “Recover” and, at the time, he call it one of his favorites from the project. Three years later, he took to Instagram to celebrate “Barricade” passing the 1 million stream mark on Spotify. “It’s so beautiful to know that this project is still resonating with people around the world,” he wrote. “Makes all the heartbreak & disappointments I went through at that time so worth it! Thank u for the healing.” Paxton’s still releasing music; his latest single “Take It” came out last year. He’s also assistant director and a dance instructor at the Show Stopper Dance Studio in Miami.
PXTN on Instagram. PXTN on Apple Music. PXTN on Spotify.

Ashley DuBose, “Make Me Black”

You won’t find a more timely song released in 2020 than this ode from the vastly underrated Ashley, who appeared on Season 4 of The Voice. A Minneapolis-bases artist, Ashley says she was “deeply disturbed and emotionally impacted” by the murder of George Floyd in her hometown. But she was also spurred into action, attending rallies like the Juneteenth Community Festival and Rally for Justice. And she released this song, then re-released it in February for Black History Month. “‘Make Me Black’ is a song I’d written prior to everything that happened in 2020,” Ashley told The Minnesota Spokesman Reader. “I wrote the song as a way to celebrate blackness because being black is all-encompassing, beautiful and diverse. Although there is no one way to be black, we’re still a beautiful and resilient group of people despite the hardships we’ve gone through and still go through.” Ashley’s latest single is the considerably less serious “Boy Crazy,” which came out in late March.
Ashley’s Instagram. Ashley DuBose on Apple Music. Ashley DuBose on Spotify.

Javier Colon, “Gravity”

This list would seem incomplete with a song from Season 1 champ Javier Colon. After winning the show, he released a 2011 album called “Come Through for You.” While saying he was proud of the project, he also called the record deal with Universal that came with his victory “an arranged marriage” that “didn’t work out.” So artistic freedom was the goal as he began working on his impressive follow-up album, “Gravity,” which landed in 2016 and featured this song as the title track. It’s about a guy who seemed destined to disappoint his lady love. Javier wrote it with Britany Burton, Andrew Hey, Harvey Mason, Patrick Smith and Damon Thomas. Lately, Javier’s been especially busy on TikTok, where he has more than 25,000 followers. He’s also featured on “Alone Together,” the recently released album from renown saxophonist Michael Lington. They covered “Baker Street,” the 1978 hit by Gerry Rafferty.
Javier’s Instagram. Javier Colon on Apple Music. Javier Colon on Spotify.

See also …
Week 1: Christina Grimmie, Sawyer Fredericks, Mia Z, Kensington Moore, Taylor John Williams, Koryn Hawthorne, Zaxai, Brynn Cartelli

Week 2: Kat Robichaud, Chevonne and The Fuzz, Melanie Martinez, Archis (Dia Frampton), Rebecca Loebe, Jamar Rogers, Brian Nhira

Week 3: Brennley Brown, Craig Wayne Boyd, Adam Wakefield, Kyndal Inskeep, Austin Jenckes, Jared Blake, Cassadee Pope

Week 4: Secret Someones (Leila Broussard), D.R. King and Jackie Foster, Wolfchild (Gabriel Wolfchild), Ricky Manning, Moses Stone, Wé McDonald

Week 5: Tony Lucca, Juliet Simms, Chris Mann, Duncan Kamakana, Jordy Searcy, Adanna Duru, Stephen Marcellus

Week 6: Chloe Kohanski, Meghan Linsey, Christiana Danielle, Charlotte Sometimes (now LACES), Chance Pena, Matt McAndrew, Angie K (Angie Keilhauer)

Week 7: Ricky Duran, Luke Wade (as LAWS), Billy Gilman, Emily Keener, Kylie Rothfield, Johnny Gates, Amanda Brown

Week 8: Dustin Christensen, Jonny Gray, Kat Robichaud, Dia Frampton, Lelia Broussard

Week 9: RaeLynn, Natalie Stovall, Gracee Shriver, The Swon Brothers, Ashland Craft, Kristi Hoopes, Texas Hill (Adam Wakefield and Craig Wayne Boyd)