Did Morgan Wallen Win ‘The Voice’? A Look Back at His Audition Song and More
These days, Morgan Wallen is performing sold-out tour dates and releasing No. 1 country music hits. Less than 10 years ago, though, he was competing for votes on The Voice as he sang pop and indie music. Wallen is one of the more successful artists to come out of NBC’s singing competition, having skyrocketed in popularity after his run on The Voice ended. But did he win his season? Here’s a look back at Wallen’s audition for The Voice and how the rest of his musical journey played out.
When was Morgan Wallen on ‘The Voice’?
Morgan Wallen auditioned for The Voice Season 6 in 2014, when he was 20 years old. He performed in front of coaches Shakira, Usher, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton. And though Wallen is known for country music today, he actually didn’t open with a country song — instead, he introduced himself to the world with Howie Day’s “Collide.”
Wallen’s raspy tones caused Shakira to turn her chair within seconds. Usher hesitated a few times but eventually pressed his button toward the end of the performance. After the song, Shakira told Wallen he had a unique voice that couldn’t be heard on the radio at the time. While Usher felt Wallen didn’t “properly execute” the song at times, he knew that could be improved through coaching. In the end, Wallen joined Team Usher.
“Morgan is a very unique voice. He’s the only voice of his sort that I have on my team,” Usher said.
Did Morgan Wallen win ‘The Voice’?
Wallen continued to the Battle Rounds on The Voice Season 6. He first went up against Brothers Walker on the song “Hey Brother” by Avicii. Usher chose to advance Wallen to the next Battle, where he performed One Direction’s “Story of My Life” with Stevie Jo. Wallen did lose this round, but Adam Levine stole him.
Morgan Wallen did not win The Voice, but he made it to the Playoffs. Ironically, he was eliminated by audience votes with his first country performance: Florida Georgia Line’s “Stay.”
Wallen rose to fame in country music after the show
Wallen certainly proved those voters wrong after The Voice. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native signed with Panacea Records and released his debut EP, Stand Alone, in 2015. His debut single, “Spin You Around,” became certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in April 2021.
One year later, Wallen signed with Big Loud Records, where he’s been ever since. His debut album, If I Know Me, came in 2018. It included the hit songs “Up Down” and “Whiskey Glasses,” the latter reaching No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in 2019. The album reached No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart in 2020.
Wallen released Dangerous: The Double Album in January 2021, which included the No. 1 hit “7 Summers.” Around this time, the country singer faced backlash for using the N-word in a video that circulated online. Still, Wallen remained popular, and sales of his latest album increased after the incident. However, many radio stations temporarily removed his songs, and Big Loud paused Wallen’s contract. Wallen issued an apology video and promised to do better. In 2022, Dangerous won Album of the Year at the ACM Awards.
