We all get our start somewhere.
It may come as a surprise today, but there was once a time when singing competition shows were the hottest thing on television. American Idol was the number one watched show on TV for seven straight seasons in the mid 2000’s. There was something about watching everyday people turn into music superstars in real time that held a grip on the public.
While the ratings aren’t the same today as they were in the heyday of these types of shows, they continue to roll on, with American Idol and The Voice entering their 22nd and 24th seasons, respectively.
Neither show has been strangers to the country music world over the years. Blake Shelton was the face of The Voice for the first 23 seasons, serving as one of the show’s coaches. Keith Urban had an extended run as a judge on American Idol and Luke Bryan has been a mainstay since its revival in 2018. Beyond the judges, both shows have seen their fair share of country talent take the stage. Here’s some of the top artists to have gotten their start in the reality television world.
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood won season 4 of Idol way back in 2005, and she remains the top selling artist from the show to this day. Up to that point, Idol had been a success on the screen but outside of Kelly Clarkson, their artists hadn’t seen much commercial success. That all changed when Carrie hit the scene. Her debut album Some Hearts became the best selling solo female debut album ever, and gave us the ever iconic Before He Cheats. The rest, as they say, is history.
Morgan Wallen
A lot of people in Nashville would love to say they’re the ones that gave Morgan his start, but none of them hold that title. Instead, it belongs to The Voice, where Wallen appeared on the show’s sixth season in 2015.
Unlike some of the other stars to come from these shows, Wallen didn’t win the competition. In fact, he didn’t even make it to the live portion of the show, being eliminated in the playoff round. It’s safe to say he’s not sweating what could’ve been, though. It feels like every other week Wallen is breaking another record, including recently spending the most time at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in over a decade.
Scotty McCreery
Idol went through a full on country phase in the early 2010’s, and Scotty was right at the heart of it. At just 18 years old, Scotty won season ten of the show while still in high school. His audition performance is one of the most iconic moments in Idol’s history, featuring his beautiful rendition of Josh Turner’s Your Man. McCreery has gone on to become a Nashville staple, seeing five number one singles at country radio since 2017.
Lauren Alaina
I told you Idol was all about country at one point. Season 10 was an all country final that saw Alaina lose to the aforementioned McCreery in an emotional finals. At the time the two combined to be the youngest finals pairing in the show’s history. Lauren’s career took a while longer to take off than her male counterpart, but she’s come into her own in recent years with several high profile duets, including One Beer with Hardy and Thicc As Thieves with Lainey Wilson, earlier this year.
Cassadee Pope
Morgan Wallen might not have been able to lock down a win on The Voice, but Cassadee Pope had no problem with it when she became the first female winner in season three. Interestingly, she didn’t sing much country at all on the show, auditioning with a cover of Natalie Imbruglia’s Torn. She released her debut EP in 2012, and has been consistently putting out records ever since. She saw her success peak in 2016 with her duet with Chris Young, Think of You, which became a number one hit, as well as Wasting All These Tears, her biggest solo hit to date.
Chris Young
Nashville Star didn’t see the national popularity that some of the other singing competition shows did but its focus on country artists means it holds its own when it comes to producing country stars. Chris Young won the show’s fourth season, which helped springboard his career. He’s had an impressive six albums reach gold certification or better and his hit single, Tomorrow, (arguably his best to date) sold 30,000 digital downloads in its first week of release 12 years ago.
Miranda Lambert
Sometimes winning isn’t everything, and Miranda Lambert exemplifies that perfectly. Lambert competed on the very first season of Nashville Star, but finished in third place. Despite this, she caught the attention of one of the show’s judges, who signed her in 2003. She went on to collect five number one singles and six platinum or better albums, making her one of the most accomplished female country artists of the 21st century. As she heads into her third decade of hit making, Miranda still has the star power to headline the largest country music festival in the world, Stagecoach.