The Fifty Best Post-The Voice Songs

In honor of the tenth season of The Voice I counted down the best Blind Auditions in the history of the show and each subsequent season I tackled a new round until last season when I did the best Live Show performances. Instead of cycling back, I thought I would check in with past contestants and count down the best songs they have released since being on the show.

Sure we have heard for thirteen seasons the show has yet to launch anyone’s career, but let’s be honest, the music industry as a whole is not very good at creating superstars anymore. Adele was arguable the last and Rolling in the Deep was released in 2010, five months before The Voice launched.

Since then the thirteen winners of The Voice have released ten full length albums, only eight on a major label, and half of those were by Daniel Bradbery and Jordan Smith. So less than half of the winners put out an official major label album (granted that last three are supposedly still working on theirs).

The good thing about the modern music it is easy to get your music out there. The bad part is that it is hard to get anyone to listen if you do not have a major or even minor label pushing your songs. I tend to prepare these lists by listening to Spotify and most of the stats are pretty abysmal, especially when an average of ten million watch The Voice and many of its contestants do not have many if any songs above Spotify dreaded “< 1,000” designation. So I will do what I can to give a little shine to my favorite Post-Voice songs which you will give a listen to. Note, I did not consider any cover songs for this list.

1. Sway - Danielle Bradbery

2. Trapeze - Dia Frampton

3. I Hate That Part - Caroline Glaser

4. I Alone Have Loved You - Hannah Huston

5. Snapshot - Xenia

6. Half a Mile - Elenowen

7. Blue – Reagan James

8. Dreams - Caroline Glaser

9. Today - Amy Vachal

10. Hello Summer - Danielle Bradbery

11. I Need You - ARCHIS (Dia Frampton)

12. Go Forth - Suzanna Choffel

13. Don't Look Back - Dia Frampton

14. My Confession - Tony Lucca

15. Don't Kick the Chair - Dia Frampton featuring Kid Cudi

16. Here so Far Away - Nicholas David

17. Young - RaeLynn featuring Leeland Mooring

18. Lovesick - Caroline Pennell featuring Felix Snow

19. Golden Boy - Amy Vachal

20. Never Gonna Let You Go - Tony Lucca

21. Red Wine + White Couch - Danielle Bradbery

22. You Can Have Me - Amy Vachal

23. Money Tree – Caroline Glaser

24. Stonewallin' - Jane Decker (Jane Smith)

25. Manipulation - Jacquie (Jacquie Lee)

26. Flames - Mathai

27. Cannonball - Rebecca Loebe

28. Wait - Amy Vachal

29. Not a Fool - Xenia

30. Buffalo Stars - Lelia Broussard

31. Walk Away - Dia Frampton

32. Where Did You Go - Queen Hilma (Andi and Alex)

33. Love Triangle - RaeLynn

34. The Ghost - Holly Henry

35. For the Taking - Elenowen

36. Say It in the Silence - Caroline Pennell

37. The Old Me - Jacquie (Jacquie Lee)

38. Sink - Holly Henry

39. Lonely Call - RaeLynn

40. Bullseye - Dia Frampton

41. Better Than This - Reagan James

42. Morning Light - Caroline Glaser feat. Liz Longley

43. Right On Time - Tony Lucca

44. Ruin - Jane Decker (Jane Smith)

45. Tears Fall - Jacquie Lee

46. 2 Times - Nicholas David

47. Once Again - Mathai

48. Hands (Piano Version) - Paxton Ingram

49. Summertime.Fin - Darius Scott

50. Holy Water - Reagan James

The Fifty Best Live Show Performances on The Voice

In a measure of full disclosure, I tend to check out of The Voice when it goes Live because most of my favorites from the Blind Auditions are gone by then. So I have not seen every single Live Show performance, it may not even be twenty - five percent. I just tend to watch the few singers I like via YouTube. And here are my fifty favorite.

1. Heartless - Dia Frampton

2. Dream On - Amanda Brown

3. Hotline Bling - Amy Vachal

4. Love Is Blindness - Madi Davis

5. Ordinary People - Mathai

6. I Call the Shots - Hannah Huston

7. Skinny Love - Lindsey Pavao

8. Blank Space - Amy Vachal

9. Songbird - Madi Davis

10. Over You - Cassadee Pope

11. Stars - Amanda Brown

12. We’re Going To Be Friends - Caroline Pennell

13. The A Team - Caroline Glaser

14. To Make You Feel My Love - Amy Vachal

15. Adorn - Cole Vosbury

16. Why Not Me - Emily Ann Roberts

17. Rich Girl - Cole Vosbury

18. Say You Love Me - Hannah Huston

19. Losing My Religion - Dia Frampton

20. Somebody That I Used to Know - Lindsey Pavao

21. Heads Carolina, Tails California - Danielle Bradbery

22. Dog Days Are Over - Caroline Pennell

23. She Talks To Angels - Austin Jenckes

24. Maggie May - Cole Vosbury

25. Foolish Games - Ashley De La Rosa

26. It’s Too Late - Lilli Passero

27. Maybe It Was Memphis - Danielle Bradbery

28. Stay - Amber Carrington

29. Holding Out For a Hero - Jessie Pitts

30. Ex’s & Oh’s - Ellie Lawrence

31. Ain’t No Sunshine - Mia Z

32. Every Breath You Take - Hannah Huston

33. Stupid Boy - Cassadee Pope

34. The Way You Look Tonight - Amy Vachal

35. Inventing Shadows - Dia Frampton

36. Budapest - Joshua Davis

37. Big Girls Don’t Cry - Madi Davis

38. I’ll Be There For You - Tess Boyer

39. Are You Happy Now? - Cassadee Pope

40. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman - Amanda Brown

41. Leaving On a Jet Plane - Caroline Pennell

42. One More Try - Cody Belew

43. Oh Sherrie - Sisaundra Lewis

44. Alone - Sasha Allen

45. Dirty Diana - Kimberly Nichole

46. My Church - Mary Sarah

47. Somebody To Love - Cody Belew

48. Wake Me Up - Caroline Pennell

49. Before He Cheats - Sasha Allen

50. Blame It On Your Heart - Emily Ann Roberts


Performances by Season

Season 1 – 3
Season 2 – 5
Season 3 – 8
Season 4 - 5
Season 5 - 8
Season 6 – 2
Season 7 - 1
Season 8 - 3
Season 9 - 10
Season 10 - 4
Season 11 – 0
Season 12 – 1

Performances by Coach

Blake - 17
Adam – 12
Pharrell - 7
Cee-Lo – 6
Christina – 4
Shakira - 3
Gwen – 1
Usher – 0
Alicia - 0
Miley – 0


And since I have gone through all the rounds, here is the ranking if you add up all four Best of rounds:

Performances by Season:

Season 1 – 7
Season 2 – 19
Season 3 – 22
Season 4 – 21
Season 5 – 23
Season 6 – 8
Season 7 – 3
Season 8 – 14
Season 9 – 23
Season 10 – 8
Season 11 – 0
Season 12 – 1

Performances of Coach:

Blake – 41
Adam – 34
Pharrell - 21
Christina – 19
Cee-Lo – 18
Shakira - 7
Usher – 6
Gwen – 4
Alicia – 0
Miley - 0

I Want My Music Videos: 3/27/17

Legend Has It – Run the Jewels


I thought the twist would be that Run The Jewels would not be fingered, maybe the police dog. Instead they went with the obvious Usual Suspects ending. Oh well.


Down - Marian Hill


Okay it is a simple camera trick, the new Marian Hill video is kind of cool.


Feels Like Summer – Weezer


It feels like a bi-yearly occurrence that I complain about the latest underwhelming lead single from a Weezer album, and this is no exception.


Don’t Look Back – Dia Frampton


Aw, Dia Frampton, still my favorite contestant from The Voice. I actually liked her big pop album Red, but this song has a great slow burn build to it.

I Want My Music Television: 3/25/14

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


She Used to Love Me A Lot – Johnny Cash


It is weird that after two decades of Rick Rubin produced albums, that a long lost song from Johnny Cash that he recorded in the early eighties sounds as if it could have easily has been an outtake from one of the American albums series. The dark music definitely fits in with some of his later music videos.


Bridges - Broods


Tt is easy to compare Broods to their fellow Kiwi Lorde (teenage singer, same producer) and their first official music video also take look at suburban youth, but Broods take a more romantic look with what seems to be the New Zealand equivalent of McLovin and Hit Girl.


Girl You Look Amazing - Nicole Atkins


Sure dating an invisible man is simple and silly, but I laughed through the new Nicole Atkins music video.


Stay – tyDi featuring Dia Frampton


After Avicii had a smash hit with the folk infused EDM track it was only a matter of time before another producer would do the same thing. Australian DJ tyDi (yes, that is how he stylizes his name) is the first to try and not surprisingly it sounds very derivative. The post-chorus bites the cords from Philip Philips’ Home (which itself was a complete rip-off of Mumford & Sons). And just like Wake Me Up, I hope that Dia Frampton eventually releases an acoustic version of the song.

I Want My Music Television: 12/16/13

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Beautiful War - Kings of Leon


I got excited when I saw one site said the new Kings of Leon video features a Friday Night Lights star. Is it Coach Taylor? Riggins? Smash? QB1 or 2? Maybe even Landry? Nope, it turn out to be the guy from the Friday Night Lights movie. Booo. Can we just call the guy the dude from the Tron reboot instead?


Holding on for Life – Broken Bells


Broken Bells recently released a short film for the upcoming album After the Disco (see part 1 and part 2) which recently got pared down for the music video of the first single. Both star Kate Mara who was the subject of a couple internet discussions of the Mara family Power Rankings. How that was even a debate I do not even know? Picking Kate over Rooney would be like picking Tito over Michael.


Over It – The Chrystal Method featuring Dia Frampton


My first thought when I heard Avicii’s Wake Me Up was I really would rather hear an “acoustic” version of the song. Same with the new Chrystal Method song. But where the originally Wake Me Up was still listenenable, the computer burps just run Over It. But it is nice seeing Dia Frampton smack a dude with cake.


Follow Your Arrow - Kacey Musgraves


I swear the new Kacey Musgraves music video is just a cuter, more colorful version of The Killer’s All These Things That I've Done.

I Want My Music Television: 7/24/13

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.


Black Skinhead – Kanye West


Okay, the above video is just Kanye West’s performance from Saturday Night Live a couple months ago because the actual music video is not embeddable. And if you thought Yeezus was inaccessible, the music video is even harder to get into. The rapper posted the interactive on KanyeWest.com except when I went there, it was only a picture of what looked to be a picture of three black dudes in black KKK hoods. After about five minutes of nothing I figured maybe Chrome was the problem and dusted off Internet Explorer which had a launch button. But when I clicked on it, the music started playing, but there was no video. Supposedly the interacted video can “synched, posted and shared” so videos will probably pop up on YouTube any minute now (and probably already have by the time you have read this) and I may check a few up is I still care by then.


Wasting All These Tears - Cassadee Pope


It was a big week for The Voice last week as the most recent winner Danielle Bradberydropped her first single just days before season three winner Cassadee Pope released her first country music video. Both songs are your typical boring pop-country fare (Pope's is just a pop-rock song with a banjo and whiskey soaked intro) that will probably have minor success on country radio but not interesting enough to cross over unless The Voice audience gets curious about them (maybe Blake should have gotten his wife Miranda Lambert to help write something more interesting). I would slightly give Danielle the first round, but neither song is as good as Inventing Shadows (speaking of Dia Frampton, she just released a song via YouTube called Footsteps which is better than anything on her first solo album and certainly better than the above two songs).


Slow Down - Selena Gomez


On her previous albums, Selena Gomez songs ranged from catchy to non-offensive and even the first single off her new album falls within that catchy category. The rest of Stars Dance really ranges between annoying to painfully bad and the new single definitely falls somewhere on that spectrum (this will probably serve as my official review of Stars Dance). At least Selena had the wherewithal to leave Spring Breakers half way through the movie. Maybe she should stick to acting or at the very least bring back The Scene.


Sky High – Ben Folds Five


When can I get Ben Folds Five to play in my living room? Granted I would probably request A Song for the Dumped and end up trashing my own place so it may be for the best if they do not.

I Want My Music Television - 12/3/12

There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.

Rock and Roll Love Affair – Prince


When I first heard this song I thought, “Prince better get his lawyer on the phone because someone totally ripped off Take Me with U.” As it turned out Prince just ripped off himself.


My Life – 50 Cent featuring Eminem and Adam Levine


What happened to 50 Cent? His debut posed to make him the greatest rapper of the decade but just kept releasing crap after that. 50 says in this song that this is his comeback, but I do not know. Eminem destroys him on his on song and a the chorus is pretty weak.


Concrete Wall - Zee Avi


Yeah, I’ll be singing “Boom sha-clack clack” for the next month or so. Thanks Zee Avi.


Walk Away – Dia Frampton


I had to laugh when Christina Aguilera said Chris Mann was the most commercially successful artist ever produced by The Voice considering Dia Frampton’s debut sold four times more albums than his over the same time period (even Javier Colon and Xenia put up better numbers). I always liked Dia and thought her album was criminally overlooked so it was nice to see the show has not forgotten her promoting her new music video this week even if it is just a glorified Kia commercial. Chris Mann did not even get a Kia product placement video, even Tony Lucca and Juliet Simms both got one.

Best of the Week - 1/28/12

Quote of the Week: The weird thing about this is that I am scrapping honey off of no-no special places of my partner that I haven’t spoken to in over a year… and, oh yeah, she hates me. (Dumbar, The Challenge: Battle of the Exes)

Song of the Week: Take On Me - a-ha (as performed by Jeffster backed by an orchestra, Chuck)

Gratuitous Token Hot Chick Picture of the Week:



Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Newt Back From the Dead… Again: Going into South Carolina it looked like Mitt Romney was going to win the first three primaries for the first time in modern history for a non incumbent. Then Iowa finally got around to counting their ballots and realize Rick Santorum actually won their state and then the Evangelicals of SC realized they would rather vote for thrice married Catholic than a Mormon. But if there is a silver lining for Romney is Republicans are starting to remember why they hated Newt in the first place so he may just wrap up the nomination by Super Tuesday anyway.

Free Download of the Week: Gimme a Kiss - Madi Diaz (RollingStone.com): If that is not enough free music from Madi Diaz, you can also grab her Let’s Go for the low, low price of free.

New Album Release of the Week: Born to Die - Lana Del Rey

New DVD Release of the Week: Drive

Video of the Week: The premiere of The Voice is just one week away and last year’s breakout singer Dia Frampton recently went out on tour with her coach Blake Shelton and has been doing some side gigs along the road like recently in Nashville where she streamed her entire set on Livestream. Check it out in its entirety below:

Watch live streaming video from exitin at livestream.com

Next Week Pick of the Week: The Challenge: Battle of the Exes, Wednesday at 10:00 on MTV: Where Survivor pulls out tricks no one wants to see like Redemption Island and Immunity Idols, last season The Challenge cam up with its best idea ever: pair up people who hate each other for Rivals. I did not think it could get much better than that until they announced their new season: Battle of The Exes forcing past hook ups to team up with each other. Brilliant. It always seems like I miss the first couple episodes of The Challenge because it is the only thing I still watch on MTV (until the triumphant return of Beavis and Butt-Head), but there was no way I was missing the new season and it totally lived up to expectation. I do not know why Survivor does not throw money at the people who create challenges for The Challenge but they should because the Honey challenge was more creative than any challenge on South Pacific.

The 100 Best Songs of 2011

1. Barton Hollow - The Civil Wars

2. Otis - Jay-Z & Kanye West featuring Otis Redding

3. Someone Like You - Adele

4. Good Man - Raphael Saadiq

5. Rolling in the Deep - Adele

6. Helplessness Blues - Fleet Foxes

7. Young Blood - The Naked and Famous

8. Poison & Wine - The Civil Wars

9. Pumped Up Kicks - Foster The People

10. Colder Weather - Zac Brown Band

11. Lonely Boy - The Black Keys

12. My Ugly Mouth - Meg & Dia

13. Black - Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi featuring Norah Jones

14. Rumour Has It - Adele

15. Brighter Than the Sun - Colbie Caillat

16. Bring It On - The Gaslight Anthem

17. Children - V V Brown

18. Lost In My Mind - The Head and the Heart

19. L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. - Noah and the Whale

20. Make Some Noise - Beastie Boys

21. Back Down South - Kings of Leon

22. Comeback Kid (That's My Dog) - Brett Dennen

23. Oh My Heart - R.E.M.

24. Tree By the River - Iron & Wine

25. Freak Out - Tapes 'n Tapes

26. Stay Young, Go Dancing - Death Cab For Cutie

27. Windows Are Rolled Down - Amos Lee

28. Just a Kiss - Lady Antebellum

29. The Show Goes On - Lupe Fiasco

30. I Need a Doctor - Dr. Dre featuring Eminem and Skylar Grey

31. Lucky Now - Ryan Adams

32. Battery Kinzie - Fleet Foxes

33. My Body - Young The Giant

34. Freaks and Geeks - Childish Gambino

35. Faster - Matt Nathanson

36. Nylons In a Rip - Nikka Costa

37. (Expletive Deleted) in Paris - Jay-Z & Kanye West

38. Up Up Up - Givers

39. Love the Way You Walk Away - Blitzen Trapper

40. Single Girls - Laura Jansen

41. Gonna Get Over You - Sara Bareilles

42. Ours - Taylor Swift

43. All of the Lights - Kanye West

44. The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars

45. Let the Rain - Sara Bareilles

46. Go Outside - Cults

47. Our Hearts Are Wrong - Jessica Lea Mayfield

48. Mean - Taylor Swift

49. When I'm Alone - Lissie

50. Stone Rollin' - Raphael Saadiq

51. Paradise - Coldplay

52. Hey Mama - Mat Kearney

53. Thinking About You - Frank Ocean

54. Time Spent in Los Angeles - Dawes

55. The Broken Ones - Dia Frampton

56. Hell On Heels - Pistol Annies

57. The Shrine / An Argument - Fleet Foxes

58. You Are a Tourist - Death Cab for Cutie

59. Flower - Amos Lee

60. Holdin On to Black Metal - My Morning Jacket

61. How Come You Never Go There - Feist

62. Bonfire - Childish Gambino

63. Back to December - Taylor Swift

64. Inventing Shadows - Dia Frampton

65. 'Til the End of Time - Timothy Bloom featuring V

66. ÜBerlin - R.E.M.

67. We Found Love - Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris

68. Lorelai - Fleet Foxes

69. Call Your Girlfriend - Robyn

70. The Story of Us - Taylor Swift

71. Invisible - Skylar Grey

72. Movin' Down the Line - Raphael Saadiq

73. Don't Kick the Chair - Dia Frampton featuring Kid Cudi

74. You've Got the Love - Florence + the Machine

75. Roll Away Your Stone - Mumford & Sons

76. Best Thing I Never Had - Beyoncé

77. Red Solo Cup - Toby Keith

78. Two Against One - Danger Mouse & Daniele Luppi featuring Jack Black

79. Get Some - Lykke Li

80. We All Go Back to Where We Belong - R.E.M.

81. Change The Sheets - Kathleen Edwards

82. Nasty - Nas

83. From the Clouds - Jack Johnson

84. Shanghai Cigarettes - Caitlin Rose

85. Radio Message - R. Kelly

86. Who Says - Selena Gomez & the Scene

87. Smarter - Eisley

88. Monster - Kanye West, Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj and Bon Iver

89. Howlin' for You - The Black Keys

90. KMAG YOYO - Hayes Carll

91. If I Die Young - The Band Perry

92. Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera

93. Make My - The Roots featuring Big K.R.I.T. & Dice Raw

94. Masquerade - Lelia Broussard

95. Calamity Song - The Decemberists

96. Little Lie - Lindi Ortega

97. Shake It Out - Florence + the Machine

98. The Scientist - Willie Nelson

99. Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall - Coldplay

100. Radio - Raphael Saadiq

The 100 Most Entertaining People of 2011

1. Emma Stone

2. Adele

3. Kyle Chandler

4. Margo Martindale

5. The Civil Wars

6. Ryan Gosling

7. Timothy Olyphant

8. Mike Judge

9. The Black Keys

10. Dia Frampton

11. Michael B. Jordan

12. Kaitlyn Dever

13. Raphael Saadiq

14. Connie Britton

15. Norm Macdonald

16. Donald Glover

17. Jim Parsons

18. The Roots

19. Allison Brie

20. Emily Van Camp

21. Bryce Dallas Howard

22. Fleet Foxes

23. Kanye West

24. Michael Wilbon, Tony Kornheiser & Statboy

25. Jane Levy

26. Lana Parrilla

27. Ginnifer Goodwin

28. Jason Segal

29. Ariel Winter

30. Stephen Colbert

31. Joel Kinnaman

32. Kat Dennings

33. Mireille Enos

34. Viola Davis

35. Taylor Swift

36. Rosa Salazar

37. Octavia Spencer

38. Melissa McCarthy

39. Mae Whitman

40. Saoirse Ronan

41. Norman Reedus

42. Peter Krause

43. Rockmond Dunbar

44. Eric Stonestreet

45. Carly Chaikin

46. Kaley Cuoco

47. Bill Simmons

48. Jeremy Davies

49. Emmy Rossum

50. Erika Christensen

51. Jurnee Smollett

52. Michael Fassbender

53. Madison Burge

54. Sara Bareilles

55. Monica Potter

56. Walton Goggins

57. Eliza Coupe

58. Jason Gann

59. Brad Leland

60. Cee Lo Green

61. Ashley Benson

62. Madeleine Stowe

63. R.E.M.

64. Jesse Tyler Ferguson

65. Alexandra Chando

66. Ben Folds

67. Hugo Weaving

68. Ed O'Neill

69. Adam Baldwin

70. Katie LeClerc

71. Eddie Trunk

72. Foster the People

73. Seth Rogen

74. James McAvoy

75. Dartmouth Aires

76. Robert Carlyle

77. Nathan Fillion

78. Beyoncé

79. Lykke Li

80. Silas Weir Mitchell

81. Ryan Adams

82. Sofia Vergara

83. Neil Patrick Harris

84. Beastie Boys

85. Vanessa Bayer

86. Jessica Lea Mayfield

87. Stana Katic

88. Chris Evans

89. Reg E. Cathey

90. John Cochran

91. Simon Pegg

92. Kristen Wiig

93. Phillip Sheppard

94. Aldis Hodge

95. Sarah Ramos

96. Ellie Kemper

97. Liam Neeson

98. Benjamin "Coach" Wade

99. Afro Blue

100. Timothy Hutton