In the music industry today, there are several ways to get discovered. TV talent competitions like The Voice, American Idol, and the USA show Nashville Star, which ran from 2003 to 2008, have been launching points for a number of huge country stars.
As we all gear up to watch Blake Shelton on his last coaching appearance on NBC’s The Voice tonight (5/23), we look at some country stars and superstars who got their big break winning or just competing in those TV talent-finding shows.
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5 - Kacey Musgraves - USA's Nashville Star - 2007
Rusty Russell/Getty ImagesKacey followed her Texan friend Miranda Lambert in competing on the USA network’s Nashville Star in 2007 and did not win the competition but came in seventh place. Twelve years later, in 2019, she won the Grammy for Album of the Year for her Golden Hour. Blake Shelton was a judge on the popular show when Kacey competed.
4 - Chris Young - USA's Nashville Star - 2006
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This native Tennessean returned to his home state to compete in Nashville Star in 2006, from where he played club gigs in Texas. Chris did actually win the competition and was signed to RCA Records in Nashville as a result. Young still records for RCA (Sony Nashville ) and has charted eleven number-one songs to date.3 - Morgan Wallen - NBC's The Voice - 2014
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Morgan is the most successful artist to compete on The Voice. On the show in 2014, Wallen made the top 20 in the blind auditions, where he sang a pop song by Howie Day even though he wanted to sing a country song. He later said the producers made him sing the pop song.2 - Miranda Lambert - USA's Nashville Star - 2003
Brad Barket/Getty ImagesMiranda competed in Nashville Star when she was just 19 years old. She did not win the competition but came in third place. In 2003, the winner of Nashville Star was a guy named Buddy Jewel.
1 - Carrie Underwood - American Idol - 2005
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesCarrie is one of the biggest stars to win American Idol next to Kelly Clarkson. Underwood was 22 years old when she won the competition and later shared her diary entry from the night she won. She wrote in part, “Big moment. I took one more look at the amazing crowd and let it sink in for a few seconds. Ryan (Seacrest) said something like ‘And your 2005 American Idol is…’ My heart beat fast, and I closed my eyes. CARRIE UNDERWOOD!!!”
