So what has the talented seventeen-year-old been up to lately? Has he been recording back at the studio as of late? Or have concert shows been keeping him busy? Can we expect to see any new releases from the season eight winner of The Voice? What happened to Sawyer Fredericks? Where is he now in 2018?

Sawyer Fredericks’ Early Life and Music Beginnings

Born on March 31, 1999, in Newtown, Connecticut, Sawyer Christopher Fredericks is the youngest out of three siblings; he has two older brothers. After spending the first eight years of his childhood in the city of Newton, his family relocated to Fultonville, New York where they settled down on an 88-acre farm. Homeschooled in an unschooling environment, he grew up surrounded by music.

When he wasn’t helping his parents with the farm, he was either singing or listening to music- something that would eventually grow into a burning passion. Wanting to improve his craft, Fredericks later enrolled himself in voice lessons at the age of eleven. By the time he was twelve, his vocal improvements had led him to perform at various local venues from Open Macs to Local Farmer Markets events.

Continuing to perfect his musical style, Fredericks eventually recorded a six-track demo tape called, Breaking Ice in 2012. From there, he later released an independent LP entitled, Out My Window, which consisted of fifteen original acoustic tracks when he was fourteen years old. Wanting to gain more exposure, the aspiring artist soon found himself uploading his music onto Youtube. It was ultimately there, on the online video viewing platform, that he captured the attention of talent scouts form the NBC award-winning competition series, The Voice. Impressed by his singing abilities, they soon invited the teen to audition for the show.

Sawyer Fredericks on The Voice

Jumping at the chance, Fredericks opted to sing the traditional folksong, I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow by Dick Burnett for his televised blind audition, which aired on February 23, 2015. A stunning performance, it quickly led all four of the show’s judges, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, and Blake Shelton to turn their chairs around. From there, the folk singer ultimately chose to join Williams’ Team.

Given approval by the series’ judges, the New Yorker subsequently found himself paired up against fellow contestant, Noelle Bybee during the Battle round. After performing Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Rival, he was chosen by Coach William to move onto the next round, while Bybee was sent home.

The following week, Fredericks was grouped with Paul Pfau and Mia Z. for a three-way match for the Knockout round. Singing against his two competitors, he chose Collide by Howie Day to be his song for the Top 32. Luckily, it earned him another save by Coach Williams, which buzzed him through to the next stage of the competition; Mia Z. also advanced to the next round.

For the subsequent Battle Round, the folk singer chose to perform Trouble by Ray LaMontagne, which ultimately earned him a spot in the Top 10. From there, he covered John Lennon’s classic title, Imagine, which earned him high praises from the judges. Not only that, but it also became his first competition single to reach number ten on the iTunes Singles Chart- something that came with a 10x multiplier bonus.

Successfully moving on to the Top Eight, Fredericks then performed Iris by Goo Goo Dolls, which once again reached the top ten on the iTunes Chart, having peaked at number four. Garnering enough votes to advance to the next stage of the competition, it wasn’t long until he was singing Simple Man by Lynyrd Skynyrd for the Top Six- which hit number two on the iTunes Chart-making it his third consecutive performance to reach number ten.

For the Top Six, he sang Al Green’s Take Me to the River while accompanied by a teen dance troupe. Afterward, he was allowed to perform a track not yet released by a major label, something rarely seen on The Voice; for that, he selected Shine On by May Erlewine. It was later revealed that while Erlewine herself had given him permission to use the song, she was a fan of fellow competitor, Joshua Davis. Rising to number three on the iTunes Chart, it later became the highest-rated title on the competition that week. Following the Top Six round, Fredericks returned to his native New York for a homecoming visit, during which he performed in front of an audience of 4000.

Fighting to be part of the top five, Fredericks later sang For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield and A Thousand Years by Christina Perry for the subsequent round. Once again garnering the highest ratings of the week, the songs reached number three and number on the iTunes chart respectively.

Having successfully earned a spot in the finals, he later came out with the single, Please, which was written by Ray Lamontagne. Performing alongside Coach Williams for the traditional duet, the two sang Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts; it would later reach number nineteen on iTunes the fooling week. After the duet, Fredericks took to the stage with a grand performance of Neil Young’s Old Man which once again, earned him great applause from the audience.

The next day- July 19, 2015, Fredericks performed a number of hits including Have You Ever Seen the Rain, Born on the Bayou, and Bad Moon Rising with John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Rival for the The Voice results show. By the end, the seventeen year old was announced as the winner of the season; Meghan Linsey was the runner up while Joshua Davis finished third.

Sawyer Fredericks After The Voice

In May of 2015, Frederick signed on as a recording artist with Republic Records. Prior to releasing his music debut however, he began performing at a number of events including at the New York State Fair; in September of that year, he even sang alongside Mia Zanotti, a fellow contestant from his season of The Voice in New York City. A couple of months later, he recorded and penned a song entitled, Forever Wrong (Frankie & Aurora’s Love Theme) which was later included in the album, Magic Strings of Frankie Presto.

In addition to making scattered appearances across various venues, Fredericks also headlined various concert shows including ones for Good Old War and A Great Big World.

On November 11, 2015, the folk singer released his self-titled extended play, Sawyer Fredericks through Republic Records. Falling under the category of pop rock, it came with four tracks including Stranger, Still Here, Lovers Still Alone, and Take it All, all of which were co-written by the artist himself; two of them also featured Mia Zanotti in the vocals. Met primarily with favourable reviews, the EP ended up peaking at number forty nine on the US Billboard Top 200; additionally, it also reached number two and number three on the US Folk and US Rock Music Charts respectively. As of 2016, Sawyer Fredericks has sold approximately 22,000 copies in the United States.

Aside from his EP, the New York-native has also contributed a number of songs such as I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow, Take Me to the River, For What It’s Worth, A Thousand Years, Simple Man, and Old Man in the studio album, The Voice: The Complete Season 8 Collection. As well, he was also involved with the making of the full length album, A Good Storm, which was released on May 13, 2016.

What’s Sawyer Fredericks Doing Now In 2026 – Recent Updates

Sawyer released a new project titled, Flowers For You, on May 1, 2020. His fourth album, it consisted of 12 tracks including “I Am to Blame”, “Turning the Shoulder”, “Amen”, “Not My Girl”, “Early In the Morning”, and “Days Go By.” Due to the ongoing pandemic, however, he wasn’t able to go on tour to promote the album. It wasn’t until the fall of 2021, that he began live touring across the United States with co-headliners The Accidentals.

Prior to that, he had released the album Hide Your Ghost in 2018, which spawned two singles—“Any of My Trouble” and “Silent World”, the former of which has been streamed over 49,000 times on YouTube (the songs are also available on Spotify).

That same year, he held a fundraising concert in Gloversville, New York, to raise funds for the theater’s ongoing restoration projects and it just so happened to coincide with the release of his “Gasoline” music video.

Fast forward to 2022 and he still performs on stage from time to time. As a matter of fact, he has two upcoming shows, according to his official website.

Over the past year, he has also been doing live Q&As on his YouTube channel, which as of 2026, has more than 86,000 subscribers. Not only that, but he’s also active on Instagram (@sawyerfrdrx) and Twitter (@SawyerFrdrx) where he has over 162,000 followers combined.

The post What Happened to Sawyer Fredericks – Now In 2026 appeared first on Gazette Review.

Joining Usher’s team alongside a number of other aspiring singers, Kaufman soon found himself advancing through the different challenges. Before long, he was standing on the stage as one of the finalists, beside fellow competitors Christina Grimmie and Jake Worthington. After giving a grand performance during the live finale, it was announced that he was the champion of the entire competition in May of 2014- making him the oldest winner in the series’ history at the age of thirty eight. Some of the songs that he sang on The Voice include It Will Rain, I Can’t Make You Love Me, Every Breath You Take, Set Fire to the Rain, This is It, One More Try, and Love Runs Out. As the winner, Kaufman was offered a hefty cash prize as well as a recording contract with the Universal Music Group.

Since then, the Florida-based singer has released two full length albums, two singles, and an extended play- most of which feature material written and performed by Kaufman himself. A few of his popular hits include Song of Redemption, Let it be Real, Fallin’ Again, I Hear You, Carry On, Do You Want Love, and Waving Goodbye. Aside from his solo works, he has also contributed to The Voice’s Complete Season 6 Collection album, which was made available in stores shortly after his win on the show. As of 2017, Kaufman’s latest musical release is that of his 2016 self-titled EP, Josh Kaufman. Although music is his main focus, he has also appeared in a Broadway production of Pippin in 2014.

So what has the former The Voice champion been doing in the recent years? Did his win on the show set him up for a successful career in music? What new projects can we expect to see from the soul singer this year? What happened to Joshua Kaufman? Where is he now in 2018?

Joshua Kaufman’s Early Life and Music Beginnings

Born on November 9, 1976 in Sarasota, Florida, Joshua Kaufman is the son of Beth Gilbert, a music minister at a Virginia church and Mark Kaufman, the owner of a roofing company. Growing up in the Lake Wales area, his talents for music and singing were apparent at a young age. As a teen, he went to the local Blacksburg High School where he was an active member of the school choir. By the time he was sixteen, Kaufman had participated in the nation-wide television reality show, Star Search; unfortunately he did not obtain the winner’s title despite his best efforts. After spending most of his youth in Virginia, he moved to Anderson, Indiana following his high school graduation to study at Anderson University.

From there, it wasn’t until 2011 that Kaufman decided to try his luck at Simon Cowell’s new reality show, The X Factor; however he ultimately did not make the cut. Around that time, the aspiring musician was also a member of an Indiana-based soul and rock band called The New Etiquette. Originally established in 2010, the lineup consisted of Ryan Koch, Nate Gray, and Kaufman himself. A relatively popular group in the local scene, they dropped an eponymous EP in the spring of 2012, which further increased their popularity in the Indianapolis area. To financially support himself, Kauman also worked at a local sandwich shop and as a SAT preparatory tutor from 2011 until 2014.

Joshua Kaufman on The Voice

In the summer of 2013, another opportunity came Kaufman’s way- this time in the form of the NBC reality competition, The Voice. Jumping at the chance to gain recognition for his work, he decided to audition for the show’s sixth season.

For the blind auditions which took place over a period of five weeks, the Florida-born singer decided to sing a rendition of George Michael’s 1988 classic, One More Try. The last to go during that round, he easily earned the applause of all four judges- Adam Levine, Shakira, Usher, and Blake. After some contemplation, Kaufman chose to join team Adam.

Following the end of the auditions, the subsequent Battle Rounds kicked off on March 17, 2014. Paired up against fellow teammate Austin Ellis during the third week, the two both performed Happy by Pharrell Williams, after which Kaufman advanced through to the next round.

After the end of round one, the contestants were once again paired up; this time, Kaufman went up against fellow competitor, Delvin Choice. The last to perform during episode fourteen, the two sang Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours by Stevie Wonder. Despite his previous success however, Kaufman found himself defeated by Choice; luckily, he was “saved” aka “stolen” by Team Usher.

Now a member of Usher’s team, Kaufman’s next appearance was in episode twelve where he performed a cover of Bruno Mars’ hit song, It Will Rain. By the end of the playoffs, he alongside two other teammates had advanced to the live shows. Among those eliminated from the competition at this point were Melissa Jimenez, Stevie Jo, Morgan Wallen, Jake Barker, Deja Hall, and Patrick Thomson, and a few others.

From there, The Voice advanced to the final phase of the competition, the live shows. During the first week, Kaufman performed Stay with Me by Sam Smith which effectively made him the first contestant of the season to receive the iTunes bonus multiplier; it eventually reached number five on the Top 200 Singles chart.

For week two, Kaufman sang This is It by Kenny Loggins which earned him the public’s vote. For this round, Christina Grimmie of Adam Levine’s team earned the bonus multiplier. Before long, only a handful of competitors were left during the quarterfinals. In episode 25, Kaufman once again obtained the iTunes multiplier with the song I Can’t Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt; it later reached number two on the iTunes Top 200 Singles chart by the end of the voting window.

Soon, the Florida-based singer was standing among a handful of contestants in the semifinals. On May 12, 2014, he performed John Legend’s All of Me which easily earned him the public’s vote and the iTunes bonus multiplier for the third time. Ultimately, both Kristen Merlin and Kat Perkins were eliminated from the show after landing in the bottom three.

Finally for the finals which aired on May 19, 2014, Kaufman sang three songs- Signed, Sealed Delivered I’m Yours by Stevie Wonder, Every Breath You Take by The Police, and Set Fire to the Rain by Adele, the second of which was a duet with Coach Usher. By the next day, it was announced that he was the grand winner of the entire competition with Jake Worthington as the runner up and Christina Grimmie in third place.

Josh Kaufman’s Musical Releases Throughout the Years

With his band The New Etiquette, Kaufman’s first studio album was that of, The New Etiquette which was released in June of 2012. Made available online via Bandcamp, it consisted of six tracks including Do You Want Love, Falling Again, Waving Goodbye, Out the Door, On Me, and That Train. As far as credits go, Kaufman was responsible for the piano, the guitars, the synth as well as the vocals.

That same year, Kaufman and his soul music group also came out with the single, Do You Want Love (Radio Only), which was met with positive reviews from fans.

In the summer of 2016, The Voice winner dropped the long awaited extended play, Josh Kaufman. His first solo effort, it featured six songs, Digging Deep, The World, Paycheck, Avalance, Truth be Told, and All I Ask, all of which were written by the artist himself. Since its release, it has garnered numerous rave reviews from fans, many of whom have praised it for its quality of production and lyrics. The EP’s first single, Truth Be Told also came with an official music video which has since been viewed over 26,000 times on Youtube since it was first uploaded online.

Unbeknownst to many, the soul singer has actually also released an EP many years ago, back when he was in his mid twenties. Entitled Forgetting…to Remember…to Forget, it was made available in 2001. One of his earlier works, its track list included the titles Song of Redemption, Out the Door, Not Alone, Let it be Real, I Hear You, Blessed, Reaching, and Carry On. While all of the songs were performed and written by Kaufman, it also featured the production efforts of Cliff Ritchey, Ben Showalter, and Andy Farnsworth.

Outside from his solo works, Kaufman has of course also contributed to The Voice‘s compilation album, The Complete Season 6 Collection, which was released on May 20, 2014. Supported by the show itself, it ended up reaching number 92 on the Billboard Top 200 and number 14 on the US Digital Albums record chart.

Since then, the soul singer hasn’t come out with any new albums or singles. Having said that, he is still involved with his band, The New Etiquette with whom he continues to perform and record with to this day.

What’s Josh Kaufman Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates

While Kaufman hasn’t released any new material, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t been hitting the stage. In fact just this past April, he joined Craig Finn, Joe Russo, Sam Kassirer and Jon Shaw as musical guests on the popular talk show, Late Night with Seth Meyers. 

Aside from that, he also sang the traditional pre-race song at the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 event, which took place in May of 2016. Having said that, it’s been announced that Kaufman will be succeeded by Jim Cornelison this year.

This summer, he also has a concert planned at London, UK on August 27, 2017.

As far as current projects go however, Kaufman has been busying organizing his Patreon page- according to his official website, he launched the site in hopes of being able to release a bunch of new songs over the next few months. For more information about this ongoing project of his, you can visit his Patreon page here.

If you’d like to stay atop of his recent projects, you’ll definitely want to drop by Kaufman’s official website at http://joshkaufmanmusic.com. Alternatively, you can also find him on Twitter at @iamjoshkaufman and on Instagram at @iamjoshkaufman.

The post What Happened to Josh Kaufman – 2018 News & Updates appeared first on Gazette Review.

Although he was rejected from the show during his first try, he eventually attended the auditions again in the fall of 2015- which proved to be much more successful. Determined to impress the judges, Smith performed a heartfelt rendition of Sia’s Chandlier which ultimately led all four coaches (e.g. Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams, Blake Shelton) to turn their chairs toward him; the aspiring singer subsequently chose to be on Levine’s team. Despite an initial lack of self confidence, he soon captured the hearts of everyone in the audience with his powerful vocals. By the latter half of the competition, it was apparent that he had become a crowd favourite. A series of on stage performances later, Smith was revealed to have finished in first place- making him the grand champion of season nine in December of 2015.

Not only was he crowned as the winner of the entire competition, but Smith was also awarded a $100,00 cash prize as well as a recording contract with Republic Records. The highest-selling artist to have ever compete on The Voice, he later released his debut single entitled, Stand in the Light in February of 2016, just a couple of months after his win. Not long afterward, he came out with his debut studio album entitled, Something Beautiful, which garnered him high praises from multiple music critics. Following up with a second release, Smith dropped his second full length album, ’Tis the Season in October of 2016. Although not as commercially successful as his first, it still managed to chart respectively on several music charts.

What has the twenty three year old Kentucky-born singer been up to since then? What projects or endeavours have been keeping him busy as of late? Will he be releasing any new singles or albums this upcoming year? Is he still recording music? What happened to Jordan Smith from The Voice? Where is he now in 2018?

Jordan Smith’s Early Life and Music Beginnings

Born on November 4, 1993, Jordan Smith (Full Name: Jordan Mackenzie Smith) is the son of Geri and Kelly Smith. Raised in a musical household as his parents were both musicians, he joined the church chorus as a young boy, in his hometown of Wallkins Creek, Kentucky. Always singing at home, either by himself or with his family, he soon found himself falling in love with the works of Sara Bareilles, Shirley Caesar, and Whitney Houston. Continuing to sing into his teens, his vocal talents were eventually noticed by his music teacher at school, who subsequently encouraged him to pursue one-on-one lessons to further hone his skills. Over the next few years, he would continue to develop both his own style and sound.

After graduating from Harlan County High School in 2011, he moved to Tennessee where he enrolled at Lee University. Never having dropped his passion for singing, he joined the college choir during his years as a student at the institution; Smith eventually obtained a Bachelor’s in Music Business. As an aspiring singer, he had always been a fan of the NBC singing competition series, The Voice. Therefore when he learnt that the auditions for season eight were to be held nearby his school, Smith jumped at the opportunity. Determined to try out his luck, he drove all night to Nashville where the event was held. Although he received an initial call back, he did not receive any news following his private audition.

Disappointed, Smith continued with his studies. As fate would have it however, he was eventually contacted by a talent scout in 2015 about participating in the show’s tenth season. Ecstatic at the second chance, he performed a rendition of Sia’s his single, Chandelier which earned the approval of all four coaches. Lauded by Levine as being “the most important person that’s ever been on the show”, Smith subsequently chose to be on Team Levine.

Jordan Smith on The Voice

Despite having earned a spot in the competition, Smith was initially doubtful at his own abilities. In a later interview, the singer revealed that it had in fact, taken him a long time to convince himself of his own talent as an artist. For the first stage- aka the Battle Rounds, the Kentucky-native was paired up with fellow contestant Regina Love; after singing Like I Can by Sam Smith, it was Smith who was ultimately saved by Coach Levine.

Successfully advancing to the next round, Smith performed Adele’s Set Fire to the Rain during the Knockout Rounds, after being grouped with Viktor Kiraly. Having once again impressed Coach Levine with his singing, he was selected to remain on the competition while Kiraly was sent home; the episode was telecasted on October 12, 2015.

Although he had made it into the Top 24, his self-confidence at the time was still quivering. It wasn’t until his grand performance during the Live Playoffs, which aired on November 9, 2015, that he first started to see himself as a performer. For his performance that week, Smith sang Halo by Beyonce; met with immense applause, it also became his first song to reach the top ten on the iTunes Chart. With that, he became the first contestant in season nine to attain a number one hit.

Moving on to the Live Top 12, Smith found himself competing against the eleven remaining singers which included Amy Vachal, Jeffery Austin, Barrett Baber, Madi Davis, and Emily Ann Roberts, among others. Performing during part two of the live rounds, he sang the Christian hyme, Great is Thy Faithfulness- initially a cappella, although he later accompanied himself on the piano. His second competition single to reach the top ten on the iTunes Music Chart, it also made him the first competitor of the season to reach number one in terms of sales. Not only that, but it also charted on various US Billboard Charts including the Christian Songs and Hot 100 Charts.

The following week, Smith sang Jessie J’s Who You Are  during the Live Top 11. Another applause-worthy performance for the singer, it earned him enough votes from the public to advance to the Top 10; not to mention the fact that it was his third consecutive top ten hit on the iTunes Music Chart. Continuing into the Live Top 10, he performed Leonard Cohen’s 1984 title, Hallelujah which led him to once again, be saved by public vote. By the end of the episode, only nine contestants were left in the competition.

During the Semifinals which were broadcasted on December 7, 2015, Smith sang Queen’s Somebody to Love. Met with critical praise, including an incredibly positive comment from Coach Levine, it quickly became the best-selling song in the iTunes Store following the episode. With that, it was certain that he would be competing in the long awaited finals. One of the finalists, Smith sang three songs during the finals- Climb Ev’ry Mountain from The Sound of Music, Mary, Did You Know? and God Only Knows, the last of which was performed with Adam Levine.  By the end of everyone’s on stage performance, he was crowned as the winner of the ninth season, earning himself a recording contract with Republic Records and a cash prize of $100,000.

Jordan Smith After The Voice

The following spring, Smith released his debut studio album, Something Beautiful through Republic Records. Considered an adult contemporary/Christian album, it was produced with the help of Bill Appleberry, Stephan Moccio and David Foster. Originally announced in February of 2016, its track list was first revealed with the release of its single, Stand in the Light. Consisting of both original material and cover songs, the album included the titles And So It Goes, Angel, I Got to Be Me, What Now, Ain’t Got Far to Go, Beautiful Things, and You Are So Beautiful; a couple of bonus titles, Dog Days Are Over and Love Somebody were also made available via a Walmart exclusive version.

Upon its release, Something Beautiful entered the US Billboard Top 200 at number two. A considerable success, the album soon became the highest entry ever to have been achieved by a The Voice contestant. Lauded for his confident singing and good cheer throughout, Smith’s debut album earned him many positive reviews from contemporary critics. Outside of the United States, Something Beautiful also peaked at number nineteen on the Canadian Albums Chart. As of August 2016, it has sold more than 73,000 copies in the US, making it Smith’s best-selling album to date.

The album as mentioned above, was preceded by the hit single, Stand in the Light. Released via digital download on February 12, 2016, it enjoyed moderate success, having found its way to number twenty five on the Adult Contemporary Chart and number eleven on the Billboard Christian Songs Chart.

Later that same year, Smith came out with his second studio album, ’Tis the Season, also under Republic records. Released on October 2016, it peaked at number eleven on the US Billboard 200 and at number three on the Holiday albums Chart. In Canada, the holiday album also charted at number thirty four. To date, it has sod over 20,000 units domestically.

What’s Jordan Smith Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates

Considering Smith’s jam-packed touring schedule, it’s understandable that he hasn’t had time to lay out any new releases. According to his official website, he will be performing across the country throughout March and early April- from Verona New York to Morristown, New Jersey. If you’d like to watch The Voice winner perform up on stage, be sure to grab some tickets while they’re still available! For more information about the tour dates, please visit his official website at jordansmithofficial.com.

In other news, the singer recently tied the knot with long-time girlfriend, Kristen Denny last summer, so it goes without saying that he’s probably enjoying the married life. We wish him all the best!

If you’d like to keep connected to the 23-year-old singer, you can do so by following him on social media- you can find Jordan Smith on Twitter or Instagram at @jordansmithlive. While you’re at it, be sure to also drop by his official Facebook page!

The post What Happened to Jordan Smith – Life in 2018 appeared first on Gazette Review.

Advancing to the Battle rounds, Bradbery’s vocal talents soon led her to be chosen over fellow contestant Caroline Glaser. After many weeks of performances, the aspiring vocalist found herself standing on stage as one of the finalists during the Live Finale. From there, it wasn’t long until she was announced as the winner of the fourth season on June 18, 2013. Not only did the win garner her much widespread attention- especially as the youngest artist to have ever won the competition, but it also earned her a recording deal with the Big Machine Records label. Just a month later, Bradbery released her debut single, The Heart of Dixie, which proved to be a commercial success, having since sold over 375,000 copies in the United States. Later that November, the recording artist released her eponymous debut album, Danielle Bradbery (2013). Met with overwhelmingly positive reviews, it ended up peaking within the top twenty on the Billboard Top 200 Chart- a fairly impressive feat for seventeen-year-old.

Since then, the former The Voice winner has released two additional singles, Young in America (2014), which charted on the US Country Airplay Chart and Friend Zone (2015), which peaked within the top fifty on the Top Country Songs Chart. In addition to her independent releases, Bradbery has also contributed to The Voice’s album, The Complete Season 4 Collection (2013), and a number of singles for the franchise. Recognized for her accomplishments, the Texas-native was nominated for an American Country Countdown Award for “Female Vocalist of the Year” in 2014. Since her win on The Voice, Bradbery has also been invited as a musical guest onto The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2013), Katie (2013), and The View (2013). 

What has the artist been up to in the recent years? Does she have any new releases planned for the upcoming future? What can we expect to see from the former The Voice winner? What projects, if any, does she have up her sleeve? What happened to Danielle Bradbery? Where is she now in 2018?

Danielle Bradbery’s Early Life and Music Beginnings

Born on July 23, 1996 in League City, Texas, Danielle Simone Bradbery is the daughter of Gloria Redden Martinez and Danny Bradbery; the second oldest out of four siblings, she has a sister named Monica and three half brothers, Collin, Drew and Drake. When she was still a young child, her family moved to the community of Cypress, where she spent most of her youth. As a teen, she was a student at Cypress Ranch High School. Although music was something that she had loved, the blonde claimed that she had never once sung in front of an audience prior to her participation in The Voice. According to the star herself, the only singing that she did was in front of the mirror in her bedroom, with a hairbrush in hand.

At the age of seventeen, Bradbery- who was still completing high school, was met with the opportunity to audition for the popular NBC reality competition, The Voice. For her try outs, the blonde sang a rendition of Mean by Taylor Swift; an impressive performance that prompted three out of the four judges (e.g. Usher, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton) to turn their chairs around. Selecting Levine to be her coach, she ultimately earned a coveted spot in the competition.

Danielle Bradbery on The Voice

Having successfully advanced through the auditions, Bradbery found herself amongst a number of contestants- all competing for a chance to bring home the grand prize of $100,000 and a recording contract. Originally premiered on March 25, 2013, the fourth season of The Voice was hosted by Carson Daly; the judges’ panel consisted of Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Shakira, and Usher. Unlike the previous seasons, season four featured smaller team sizes (e.g. twelve per team).

During the subsequent Battle rounds, Bradbery was paired up with fellow singer, Caroline Glaser by Coach Shelton. Together, the two performed a rendition of Put Your Records On by Corinne Bailey Rae. Following the performance, Bradbery was saved by the judge while Glaser was eliminated from the competition. Moving on to the next stage, the vocalist later found herself singing against Taylor Beckham in the Knockouts- a round which once again saw only one of the two advancing to the next round. During that week, Bradbery sang Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take the Wheel, which led her to be saved from elimination; Beckham was consequently sent home.

Having earned a spot in the Top 16, Bradbery later performed Maybe It Was Memphis by Pam Tillis, which ultimately earned her enough votes from the public to advance to the next week. From there, the country singer eventually performed Wasted by Carrie Underwood in the subsequent round, which led her straight to the Top 10 Playoffs. Fuelled by her ever-growing determination to win the competition, she gave it her all in a performance of Jo Dee Messina’s Heads Carolina, Tails California, which soon became the first song to reach the top ten on the iTunes Charts.

A couple of eliminations later, the country singer performed Grandpa (Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Ol’ Days) by The Judds during the Top 8, which advanced her to the Top 6. The following week, Coach Blake Shelton chose Pam Tillis’ Shake the Sugar Tree for her to perform, which she ended up executing perfectly. During that same stage, Bradbery also sang A Little Bit Stronger by Sara Evans, which earned her much applause from the audience. Continuing to inch closer to the finals, the Texas-native soon found herself singing Who I Am and Please Remember Me during the top five; the two songs would later reach the top ten on the iTunes Charts.

Carried by her natural talents, Bradbery eventually found herself standing amongst a handful of finalists at the Live Finales. For the final performance, she collaborated with Coach Blake Shelton on Honky Tonk Angel’s Timber, I’m Falling in Love. Afterward, she also sang Maybe It Was Memphis- the same song that she performed during the Top 16. Not long afterward, it was revealed that Bradbery had finished in first place, making her the winner of the whole season. Only seventeen years old at the time, she was the youngest champion that the show has ever seen; not only that, but she also had the highest amount of iTunes downloads than any other contestant in the history of The Voice.

Danielle Bradbury After The Voice

As part of her winnings, Bradbery was quickly signed to Big Machine Records following her win on the NBC reality competition. That summer, on July 16, 2013, the country singer released her debut single entitled, The Heart of Dixie. Written by Troy Verges, Brett James, and Caitlyn Smith, it entered the Billboard Country Airplay at number sixty, where it remained for a week. Additionally, it also peaked at number fifty eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number sixteen on the Hot Country Songs Chart; in Canada, it also charted on the Country and Canadian Hot 100 Charts. Accompanied by a music video directed by Shane Drake, The Heart of Dixie has sold over 356,000 copies domestically as of 2014.

A few months later, the singer came out with her self-titled studio album, Danielle Bradbery. Produced by Brett James and Dann Huff, it came with a collection of twelve country songs including the titles Daughter of a Working’ Man, I Will Never Forget You, Endless Summer, Yellin’ From the Rooftop, Talk About Love, and My Day. In addition to the standard edition, a deluxe version was also released which contained four bonus tracks, Who I Am, Born to Fly, Jesus Take the Wheel, and Maybe It Was Memphis.

Following its in-store release, Danielle Bradbery entered the US Top Country Albums Chart at number five; within the first week, it had sold approximately 41,000 copies. A considerable success for the seventeen year old teen, it also peaked at number nineteen on the Billboard 200. The album eventually spawned two singles, Young in America and The Heart of Dixie.

After a year’s break, Bradbery returned with a new single entitled, Friend Zone on August 28, 2015. Made available via digital download, it was written by the artist herself with help from Shari Short, Johan Lindbrandt, and Mikal Blue. Despite marking her comeback into the music scene, the single was generally panned by critics; for instance, the cliche metaphors found throughout the song were target of much criticism. Given a D- rating by Jim Casey writing for Nash Country Weekly, Friend Zone disappointingly was never released to country radio. Having said that, it did reach number forty one on the Billboard Hot Country songs Chart.

Aside from her releases as a solo recording artist, Bradbery has also contributed to The Voice’s The Complete Selection 4 Collection, which was made available for download on June 19, 2013. With The Voice franchise, she has also sang a number of singles including A Little Bit Stronger, Who I Am, Born to Fly, Please Remember Me, Timber I’m Falling in Love, and Wasted, to name a few.

More recently in 2016, she collaborated with fellow American country singer, Thomas Rhett in the song, Playing with Fire.

What’s Danielle Bradbury Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates

If you’d like to see the former The Voice winner perform on stage, you’re in luck- according to her official website, she has a couple of shows scheduled this upcoming year in March and June in Nashville, Tennessee and Walker, Minnesota respectively. If that tickles your fancy, be sure to grab your tickets while they’re still available. In addition, she’ll be also making an appearance at the Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival- a five-day festival scheduled to take place form March 28 to April 1, 2017.

As far as other performances go, Bradbery recently sang at the 2017 NFL Players Party on February 12, 2017. Some of the other artists featured at the event include The Beach Boys, Montgomery Gentry, Hunter Hayes, Tracy Byrd, and the Sunshine Band.

If you’d like to stay connected with the 20-year-old singer, you can do so by following her on social media- you can find Danielle Bradbery on Twitter at @DBradbery or on Instagram at @DanielleBradbery.

The post What Happened to Danielle Bradbery – Now in 2018 appeared first on Gazette Review.

For his blind audition, the Texas-native performed a rendition of Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt’s The Whiskey Ain’t Working. Having put on a successful performance, he eventually chose American singer Blake Shelton as his coach. After several weeks of singing, he was declared as the winner in December of 2014. Aside from bringing home the champion title, Boyd also received a cash prize of $100,000 USD as well as a recording contract with Universal Music Group and Dot Records. Following the end of the competition, the country singer gave a awe-striking performance at the Grand Ole Opry, prior to embarking on a 65-city tour across the country. Although he originally planned to release his debut album in 2015, it was later reported that he had parted ways with the label. Before leaving Dot however, he released the hit single, My Baby’s Got a Smile on Her Face, which proved to be a chart topper on the US Hot Country Songs Chart.

Having said that, the country singer had released two independent studio albums even prior to participating in the NBC competition. In the summer of 2008, he dropped his full length debut, Craig Boyd, which was later followed by I Ain’t No Quitter in 2013. As far as singles go, Boyd has released eleven different titles including Can’t You See, Some Kind of Wonderful, You Look So Good in Love, I Walk the Line, The Old Rugged Cross, and In Pictures. On the small screen, the artist has been featured in a number of television shows such as The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2014), Ellen: The Ellen Degeneres Show (2014), and Home & Family.

What has the 37-year-old country singer-songwriter been up to since then? What new projects have the Texas native taken on recently? Can we expect to see any new releases from him this year? What happened to Craig Wayne Boyd? Where is he now in 2018?

Craig Wayne Boyd’s Early Life and Career Beginnings

Born on December 31, 1978 in Dallas, Texas, Craig Wayne Boyd spent most of childhood in the suburb of Mesquite. Having listened to music often as a youth, he was especially fond of country and gospel tunes. Eventually wanting to get involved himself, he joined a local church choir with whom he sang with for many years. Recognized for his contributions to his group, Boyd later became chorus director. Growing up, he had always aspired to pursue a career in the music industry. Thus, following his dreams, he relocated to the country’s music capital- Nashville, Tennessee in the early 2000’s. As luck would have it, he quickly landed a publishing gig with EMI.

For the first few years, things looked promising for Boyd- he wrote songs, performed local gigs and even went on national tours; during the early 2000’s, he opened for a number of artists such as Brantley Gilbert, Jamey Johnson, and Randy Houser, among others. However things soon proved to be difficult; after ten years of such work, financial pressures started to weigh him down- at one point, he was even on the verge of quitting music altogether. Fortunately, a big opportunity soon came his way. In 2013, Boyd auditioned for the seventh season of the NBC reality competition, The Voice; little did he know at the time that it would bring him newfound fame as a country singer.

Craig Wayne Boyd on The Voice

Created by John de Mol, The Voice– as its name implies, is a singing reality competition. Based on the Dutch The Voice of Holland, the show aims to find unsigned talent through a series challenges presented with each episode. Unlike other shows where the winner is solely determined by the judges, the winner of The Voice is determined by the public through text, telephone and the internet; they are then awarded a cash prize of $100,000 USD as well as a recording deal with the Universal Music Group.

Unique to the reality series, The Voice features a number of judges who each form their own team of artists during the initial “Blind Auditions”, after which they mentor them for the rest of the competition. During the try outs, each coach is seated so that they have their backs faced against the singer; should they be interested in the individual, they then press a button which swivels their chair around- this indicates that the judge would like to have them on their team. If more than one expresses interest, the artist then gets to select his own coach.

At the age of thirty six, the Texas-native debuted as a contestant on the seventh season of the NBC reality show. For his audition, he performed a rendition of The Whiskey Ain’t Workin by Marty Stuart and Travis Tritt, after which two coaches turned their chairs around- Pharrell Williams and Blake Shelton; Boyd ultimately chose Shelton to be his coach. During the subsequent “Battle Rounds”, in which a coach pairs two members of their team to sing together, Boyd was grouped with James David Carter- together they performed Pat Green’s Wave on Wave. Unfortunately, Shelton picked Carter over Boyd following the performance, causing him to be at risk of leaving the whole competition. Luckily however, Boyd was saved by another coach, Gwen Stefani using a “steal”.

For the Knockout Round, the country singer was paired with Jamaican singer, Anita Antoninette, he then sang The Marshall Tucker Band’s Can’t You See. Although he ended up losing the round, he was saved aka “stolen back” by his original coach, Shelton, which led him to advance to the next round. During the Live Playoffs, as it was called, Boyd sang Soul Brothers Six’s Some Kind of Wonderful; with help from the Public’s votes, he successfully made it to the Top 12, during which he sang You Look So Good in Love. Later advancing to the Top 10, Boyd sang Johnny Cash’s I Walk the Line, which earned her the majority of the public’s votes. For the week of the Top 8, the singer performed Eagles’ Take It Easy; saved by the public vote once again, he soon found himself competing in the Top Five.

During the highly anticipated Semifinals, Boyd was told to perform Merle Haggard’s Workin’ Man Blues; on top of that, he also sang an iTunes Top 10 hit, The Old Rugged Cross. Having successfully impressed the public with his singing, he subsequently advanced to the finals. For the finals, the country singer sang three titles- Alabama’s In Pictures, Randy Houser’s Boots On, and an original song entitled, My Baby’s Got a Smile on Her Face, that last of which was originally written for his coach, Shelton.

On December 16, 2014, Boyd was declared as the winner of the seventh season of The Voice; it also marked Coach Shelton’s fourth team win.

Craig Wayne Boyd After Winning the Competition

Following his win, Boyd was given a prize of $100,000 USD as well as a recording contract with the Universal Music Group and Dot Records. Shortly afterward, he also gave a performance at the Grand Ole Opry, after which he embarked on a 65-city concert tour.

Although he originally planned to release his debut album sometime in 2015, prior to that happening however it was later announced that he had parted ways with the Dot label. Having said that, he did release one single- My Baby’s Got a Smile on Her Face, the song which he sang during the finals, with Dot in December of 2014.

Written by Stephanie Jones and Mark Marchetti, the song is most well known for being Boyd’s coronation single. As it was revealed on the show, the single was originally written for Blake Shelton, who had planned on recording it himself. During the finals however, Shelton had decided to give the song to Boyd. Made available via Digital Download, My Baby’s Got a Smile on Her Face entered the Hot Country Songs Chart at number one- making it the second single in the history of the chart to have ever debuted at the first position. After debuting at number one for a week however, it fell off the rankings the following week. Aside from having charted on the Hot Country Songs, it also peaked at number thirty four on the Billboard Hot 100; outside of the United States, the single also saw success in Canada where it reached number forty five on the Canadian Hot 100.

While Boyd never ended up releasing a full length album following his time on the show, he did contribute to the studio album, The Voice: The Complete Season 7 Collection (2014) in which he performed the titles Can’t You See, You Look So Good in Love, Some Kind of Wonderful, I Walk the Line, The Old Rugged Gross, and Workin’ Man Blues, among a few others. Additionally prior to his time on the reality competition, he had released two independent studio albums entitled, Craig Boyd (2008), and I Ain’t No Quitter (2013).

In 2015, the country singer also released another single entitled, I’m Still Here; unfortunately, it did not end up charting in the United States.

What’s Craig Wayne Boyd Doing Now in 2018 – Recent Updates

There’s some good news for us fans- it looks like Boyd is getting ready to release his new album, although the title has not yet been released. As it’s posted onto his PledgeMusic page, the artist will be offering some special bonus content for those who would like to pre-order his album online. For example, for $25 fans will not only receive his new album on CD, but also the album download and access to exclusive updates. Other perks are available as well such as a signed copy with a pledge of $30 and an invitation to an exclusive album release party with a pledge of $40.

If you’d like to keep in touch with the singer-songwriter from Dallas, Texas, you can do so by following him on social media- you can find Craig Wayne Boyd on Twitter at @CWBYall. While you’re at it, be sure to also visit him on Youtube and Facebook at @Craigwayneboyd.

The post What Happened to Craig Wayne Boyd – Now in 2018 appeared first on Gazette Review.