'The Voice' fans wonder why the hit show never 'produced' any stars: 'The coaches don’t follow...'
NBC's 'The Voice' Season 27 is in its final leg, and anticipation for the finale is at its peak. Since its debut in 2011, the singing competition has consistently showcased impressive vocal talent. However, it has struggled to produce any breakout stars. In contrast, its counterpart, 'American Idol,' has introduced talents like Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, and Benson Boone, but 'The Voice' has failed to churn out even a single contestant with mainstream success, and viewers are wondering why.
Undoubtedly, 'The Voice' offers a major platform to aspiring singers to showcase their vocal strength, where they get the golden chance of getting mentored by the bigwigs of the music industry. However, that does not guarantee a prosperous career, as very few can make a name for themselves. The winners are awarded $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Music Group (UMG), as per Taste of Country. While the perks of the victory seem lucrative, unfortunately, they often fail to translate into mainstream success.
In addition, the success of these winners is limited to very minimal domestic recognition and fails to attain international recognition. Fans have also noticed this and shared their opinions under a Reddit thread. A fan said, "We’ve been through this topic several times. My opinion is that The Voice focuses more on the coaches than on the competitors. It doesn’t matter if Wendy ends up winning this season; in the future they’ll mostly talk about how Blake Shelton managed to win the show 9 times," while another added, "There have been a few. Cassadee Pope was a big name. I think that the judges don’t actually give any feedback that can help the contestants get better."
Another fan shared, "Notice how every success story you mentioned was on TV 10+ years ago? Network television ratings are less than half of what they were in the early 2000s. The simple answer is these shows have no cultural influence anymore." Meanwhile, a viewer commented, "Well, the only famous singer that I can think of from The Voice is Melanie Martinez, and she competed back in Season 2, I think." Another commented, "As others have said, it looks like the record company they sign with isn't great. Blake's artists have done the best, but it's because he works at supporting them wherever he can. Apparently he has an LA house they can live rent-free in while they try to make their way, and he often arranges gigs for them."
Notably, Season 1 winner Javier Colon reflected on this failure as he said, "You still have to prove yourself as an artist, because the whole time that you're on the show, you're not singing your own songs. But after being on television and having so many millions of people watching, you would hope that you’d at least have a fighting chance." However, Colon described his post-show label relationship as an "arranged marriage," saying it often stifled individuality.
Similarly, the winner of Season 8, Sawyer Fredericks, criticized the industry approach as he revealed, "I feel like they're trying to cookie-cutter every person that comes out of 'The Voice' because they think they're all the same. I don't think they put the time into figuring out what kind of artist I was." Even the longtime coaches voiced frustration, as reported by the New York Post. Blake Shelton admitted in a chat with 'Entertainment Tonight,' saying, "One of the frustrating things for me as a coach on this show year after year is they win this record deal with Universal, and so many times the ball's been dropped." Adam Levine echoed this, telling Howard Stern, "We do so much great s**t for these singers, and then they go to a record label … that f***ks it up."