Fans Are Calling out 'The Voice's' Lack of Successful Artists, and They Have a Point

As one of the leading reality TV singing competitions out there, The Voice should have a slew of successful artists who have built careers from their time on the show. However, embarrassingly, the program can't boast one previous winner who has gone on to be a top musician today.

Drawing attention to that awkward fact is the show's constant promotion of its 30th season, which is set to premiere in September 2026. Amidst all the hype, fans can't help but wonder why The Voice has failed to achieve other singing competition show's star-building success.

As fans debate why The Voice is falling short of similar shows, one person took to Threads to offer, "Unlike American Idol, it seems like The Voice doesn’t offer any kind of support, development, or promotion for the artists. It’s really sad, because they’ve had many, many incredibly talented performers over the years."

It seems this assessment is often true, due to the mentorship format of the program. In The Voice, the judges choose which contestants they would like to mentor throughout the show. After the program, that mentor/mentee relationship is expected to continue. The Voice's producers' hope is that the judges will support the contestants' careers via promotions, collaborations, and opening for them on tours. Clearly, that method isn't working out as desired.

The Voice's strategy of passing the responsibility on to individual judges means that the winning contestant has to rely on their mentor's own career success and personality. Not every judge has a strong enough career to support someone else's, and not every mentor cares to keep up with contestants after the show.

Meanwhile, the show's prizes also leave something to be desired. The winner gets $100,000, which they'll presumably invest in their career. While that amount of money can absolutely help someone get their music out, not everyone is business-savvy and would know how to utilize that cash wisely.

The other prize is a contract with Universal Music Group. Again, this can be incredibly valuable if people have the proper guidance on how to leverage it. We hate to break it to you, but your Uber driver could very likely have an equally promising contract — these things are nothing more than a piece of paper if you don't know what to do with them.

In contrast, American Idol (which has produced multiple stars) covers the winner's production costs for an entire album. Some seasons even allowed contestants to record and release original music during the competition itself. It's also worth noting that the cash prize is paid out in installments, and some of it is an advance expected to be paid back with future earnings, ensuring that the money is spent towards a career in music.

Unfortunately for The Voice, the show has earned itself a reputation for passing on singers who are now highly successful artists. Most notably, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs, who are arguably country music's biggest stars, were both booted from the competition.

In The Voice's defense, Morgan has admitted he deserved to be eliminated early in his season. The singer shared that he was out of his element, per Yahoo!, "They wanted me to sing pop music." Once he left the show and pivoted to country music, his career took off. As for Luke, he never even made it in front of the judges! Per Whiskey Riff, the star was told he "doesn’t have a story" entertaining enough for viewers.

Former The Voice coach, Blake Shelton, has weighed in on the show's unfortunate track record. When it comes to Morgan, Blake shared with New Country 96.3, "I think the one that I look back on now and go, ‘What the hell,’ is Morgan Wallen. ... He was on the show, and he didn’t even get through the Battle [rounds]. ... It’s like, ‘I had him right there and he got away.'" Regarding Luke, Blake admitted to Whiskey Riff, "There’s no way around it; it’s embarrassing. Let’s just face it."

Based on the two aforementioned stars' experiences, it seems that The Voice has a very specific idea of what music's next big star should be like. Perhaps that inability to widen the lense is part of what's contributing to the program's lack of successful winners?