Chattanooga Times Free Press - ChattanoogaNow
“The Voice” winner Jordan Smith says thanks to local fans with Tivoli stop.
SATURDAY
To say it’s been a whirlwind year for Jordan Smith doesn’t quite do it justice.
You know the story: The Lee University senior music major from Harlan, Ky., tries out for “The Voice,” breaks iTunes records during the run of the NBC talent show and emerges victorious three months later.
Smith easily won over all four judges in the Season 9 premiere. His voice soaring on Sia’s “Chandelier,” he earned early chair spins from Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams, an indication they wanted him on their team. Adam Levine held out the longest, but it was Levine that Smith chose as his coach/mentor as the competition progressed.
Levine told him: “I think you’re the most important person that’s ever been on this show.”
Smith told the Harlan Daily Enterprise that he was torn between Levine and Williams before ultimately deciding on Levine.
“I’m a music major in college, and I knew I could learn from the producer side of things from Pharrell, so I was really interested in working with him and learning about the business and different aspects of it. But, in that moment, Adam had so many good things to say. They both had won- derful things to say, and they were both extremely encouraging, but when it came down to it I think I felt a more emotional connection to Adam. … I went with Adam, and it was a wonderful decision. Immediately after he came up on the stage and said some of the nicest things to me. That was the confirmation to me that I made the right choice.”
To understand how far how fast Smith has come in the past nine months, look no further than his Facebook postings. From Sept. 10, 2015:
“Hey friends! I have a HUGE announcement that I’ve just been DYING to share with you …
“I auditioned for ‘ The Voice’!!! Be sure to tune in to
NBC starting on September 21st to see how I did!” By Sept. 22, the audition video of Smith singing Sia’s “Chandelier” had reached half a million views on YouTube. By Sept. 25, the count was up to 5 million views.
By Sept. 26, the audition video had been viewed 6 million times, and he had reached 10,000 likes on Facebook. By Sept. 28, the video had reached 7 million views. By Oct. 5, 9 million views.
By Oct. 20, 12 million views for the audition video and more than 1 million views for a battle performance of “Halo.”
By Nov. 10, “Halo” was No. 3 on the iTunes Top 200
charts. On Nov. 18, Smith posted:
“Wow! What an amazing couple of days! Not only have I been given the unbelievable opportunity to continue to the Top 11, but ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness’ reached # 1 on the iTunes overall Top 200 charts!
“For those who are asking, I did indeed play piano for myself live, as well as on the studio version of the song that’s on iTunes! It was a huge undertaking but also an amazing privilege to play for myself and share that portion of my gift with the world!” On Dec. 16 ( the day after his “Voice” win):
“I cannot accurately express in words just how I’m feeling today. The only thing I can say is that God is good. Last night I proved to myself and the world that what’s on the outside isn’t important. Instead, it’s what’s in your heart that matters. Music is in my heart. Love is in my heart. Dreams are in my heart. And those things reach far beyond what our society tells us should matter.
“… Thank you so much for supporting me on this journey. Now, I’m asking that you continue on this path with me as I try to make a career for myself. The hard work is just beginning, and I’m so excited to step fully into my calling and allow God to show me the big things. Be faithful in the small things, because those add up to something big.”
That was also the day he released a full- length album, “Jordan Smith: The Complete Season 9 Collection,” on iTunes. Overnight, the album skyrocketed to the Top 5 on the iTunes Overall Album Chart and debuted on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at No. 11.
Of course his pop-culture rise hasn’t stopped there. Since the win, he: › Has made multiple TV and radio appearances and has sung the national anthem at numerous sporting events.
› Was named Kentuckian of the Year by Kentucky Monthly magazine, served as grand marshal of the Pegasus Parade at the Kentucky Derby Festival and had a Blizzard named in his honor at his hometown Dairy Queen.
› Debute d NBC’s anthem for the 2016 Summer Olympics, a cover of One Republic’s “I Lived.”
› Released his debut CD, “Something Beautiful,” which hit No. 1 on the iTunes Pop chart.
› Proposed to girlfriend Kristen Denny. (She said yes.)
› Announced his first headlining tour, with San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York, Boston and Atlanta among the major-market stops, along with Chattanooga, a nod to his fan base at Lee University, and Lexington in his home state.
Ultimately, Smith sold more than 1 million singles in less than six months and made “Voice” history by landing four songs in the Top 10, the most of any artist on the show. Eight of his songs landed in the Top 10, six hit Top 3 and three went to No. 1 on iTunes.
To understand t he impact Smith has had on music, consider that Season 10 of “The Voice” has aired — could you name the winner? — and his record stands as the highest-selling artist to ever emerge from the show.