While singers like Guy Sebastian, Samantha Jade, Dami Im, Casey Donovan and Jessica Mauboy continue to have high-profile careers following their time on Australian Idol or The X-Factor, the same can’t be said of many of the winners of The Voice Australia.
WATCH: The Voice Grand Finale | Bella Taylor Smith and Guy Sebastian sing The Prayer by Andrea Bocelli
For the 10 victors of the singing competition, which has switched from the Nine Network over to Channel Seven, ARIA chart success quickly petered out after the initial burst of post-show activity, and they’ve mostly flown under the radar in other respects as well.
We’re still waiting to see what more-recent winners are going to make of their careers, given they definitely have the voices to go far.
But for now, let’s take a trip down memory lane to find out what these songbirds are up to now.
Karise Eden
Season 1, 2012
The inaugural winner of The Voice Australia, Karise Eden was still a teenager – just! – when she debuted at the top of the singles and albums chart with music she’d performed on the show. Despite a lengthy delay in further recordings, she enjoyed a top 20 single Threads of Silence in mid-2013 and top 5 album, Things I’ve Done, in late-2014, but hasn’t been able to sustain her initial, record-breaking momentum. These days, Karise juggles looking after her two kids, Blayden and Hartley, and releases music on a smaller scale. She released a new single, Gone, in April 2022.
Harrison Craig
Season 2, 2013
After racking up nine top 50 hits in just over two months as his season reached its climax, then-18-year-old Harrison Craig looked even more certain to enjoy a fruitful post-show career. And sure enough, his debut album reached number 1 in July 2013. Since then, Craig’s stuck with the covers, but his two subsequent albums have seen diminishing returns, with 2016’s King of Vegas barely making the top 40. In 2017, he released children’s book Harrison’s Song and took a few international songwriting trips pre-pandemic. Recently, he sang the hits of Elton John for a live audience in a tribute show.
Anja Nissen
Season 3, 2014
Unlike most winners, Anja Nissen, who was 18 at the time, didn’t put out a winner’s single in the wake of her Voice victory. Instead, I’m So Excited (featuring her mentor, will.i.am, and Cody Wise) wasn’t released for three months – and missed the top 40. Follow-up singles performed even more disappointingly, although a remake of Anyone Who Had a Heart from the soundtrack to TV series Love Child made the top 30 in mid-2015. In 2017, Nissen represented Denmark, the birthplace of her parents, in the Eurovision Song Contest with Where I Am, placing 20th in the final. Nowadays, Anja lives in Los Angeles, where she works as a vocalist and a vocal coach.
Ellie Drennan
Season 4, 2015
The youngest champion to date, Ellie Drennan took out The Voice Australia as part of Team Jessie when she was just 16. Winner’s single Ghost charted at number 25, while her debut album, Close Your Eyes, peaked at number 14, making it the least successful album by a winner released immediately following the show to date. In 2016, Drennan released two singles, Living Inside a Dream and Hard Love, but neither set the chart alight. However, Ellie is still only in her early 20s, and has plenty of time to set the world on fire. She recently toured regional NSW, and sings at the occasional festival as well.
Alfie Arcuri
Season 5, 2016
Winner Alfie Arcuri did manage a top 5 album with Zenith but his debut single, Cruel, didn’t get anywhere near the top 50 and has the ignominious honour of being the least successful winner’s single to date. Two further singles, If They Only Knew and Love is Love, also struggled to find their mark. However, in recent years, Alfie has carved out a good career for himself, performing overseas and also continuing to release music. He competed in Eurovision – Australia Decides for its inaugural competition in 2019. His latest single, Devil’s Lips, came out at the end of 2021.
Judah Kelly
Season 6, 2017
The Voice Australia’s first country-influenced winner scored a top 20 debut single, Count On Me, and top 3 album of the same name. But, like all his predecessors, things ground to a halt pretty quickly. He released a second album, Real Good Time, in 2018, which peaked at number 38 on the charts.
Sam Perry
Season 7, 2018
Singer and looping artist Sam Perry took out the title in 2018, somewhat controversially, given some audience members and coach Boy George himself were asking if his looping technique was fit for a singing competition. Despite this, he joined team Kelly Rowland and rose to the very top, taking out the win. His debut single after his win, Trust Myself, hit number 78 on the charts, but he didn’t follow it up with anything substantial. These days, Sam continues to work as a DJ, playing the occasional festival.
Diana Rouvas
Season 8, 2019
Diana was a seasoned singer prior to her win, having worked with the likes of Tina Arena and Damien Leith. Her 2019 win was preceded by a run on The Voice Australia in 2012, where she made it to the top eight. However, she was hungry to try once more, and made it in first place in 2019 on Team Boy George. Her song Wait for No One was released imminently after the finale aired, but failed to break the ARIA top 500. She went on to compete in Eurovision – Australia Decides that same year, and came in seventh place. Now, Diana performs on a small scale, doing pretty regular gigs, including a recent one at the Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Chris Sebastian
Season 9, 2020
The younger brother of coach Guy Sebastian, Chris Sebastian, took out the win in 2020. A dedicated singer with a background in production, Chris was on the first season of The Voice, but returned to complete unfinished business. He took his place on Kelly Rowland’s team and took out the win after many interruptions to filming given the COVID-19 pandemic. Since winning, Chris has released two singles, Hard to Get to Love and Wasted on Me, but he is also prolific on TikTok and is always creating content. He also recently welcomed a baby boy, Kingston Carter Sebastian.
Bella Taylor Smith
Season 10, 2021
Bella Taylor Smith was slated to win the competition from the moment she auditioned, singing Beyonce’s version of Ave Maria with purely angelic vocals. She chose to join Guy Sebastian’s team after connecting with him over growing up singing in church. Since then, the talented powerhouse has released her single Nice to Know Ya, and Look Me In The Eyes, which will both be on her upcoming EP. She’ll also be supporting Guy on his upcoming T.R.U.T.H tour.
The Voice Australia returns on Monday, April 18, 2022 on Channel Seven and 7plus.
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