The Voice (2015) Smith came to national attention in 2015 during his participation on
season 9 of
The Voice. His audition performance of "
Chandelier" led all four coaches to turn their chairs; Smith chose to be part of
Adam Levine's team after Levine told him, "I think you're the most important person that's ever been on this show." According to
Slate, Smith was dubbed "the unicorn" during the show because his voice is "genderless and expansive ... as ambiguous as it is precise, quickly scaling and spelunking through octaves, never anything but perfectly on pitch." For week two of the live shows, Smith began "
Great Is Thy Faithfulness" by singing
a cappella, then accompanied himself on piano; the performance made Smith the first artist of the season to reach No. 1 in sales in the
iTunes Store, ahead of "
Hello" by
Adele. "
Mary, Did You Know?" was Smith's choice for the final competition show. It became his second consecutive performance to reach the top of the iTunes Store, bumping "Hello" a third time. For the results finale, Smith teamed up with
Usher and sang
David Guetta's "
Without You". At the end of the broadcast, Smith was declared the winner of season nine, earning US$100,000 and a
Republic Records recording contract. • Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes ;Non-competition performances
After The Voice As of December 2015, Jordan Smith was the highest selling artist ever to compete on
The Voice. One week after his victory, Smith made history on
Billboards
Christian Songs chart; he became the first artist ever to hold the top two positions concurrently when his cover of "Mary, Did You Know?" overtook "Hallelujah" as the No. 1 song. Smith's version of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" occupied the No. 8 spot at the same time, making him only the third artist ever to chart three songs in the top 10 simultaneously.
The Voice: Jordan Smith: The Complete Season 9 Collection was released in December 2015, entering the
Billboard 200 albums chart at No. 11, earning "Hot Shot Debut" honors. Two tracks from the album debuted in the top ten on the Digital Singles chart; "Mary, Did You Know?" debuted at No. 1. Upon his return to Kentucky, Smith was named a
Kentucky Colonel by the
Secretary of State, at a parade in Smith's honor. He was also named the 2015
Kentucky Monthly Kentuckian of the Year.
Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley said Smith's win had a huge impact on an area that is struggling to rebuild its economy. "Jordan may have single-handedly reversed negative stereotypes on our region that will help give us an economic bump. In January 2016, Smith was announced as
grand marshal of the
Kentucky Derby Festival Pegasus Parade in May. That same month, he performed the national anthem alongside the
Boston Pops Orchestra at the
2016 NHL Winter Classic at
Gillette Stadium in
Foxborough, Massachusetts featuring the
Montreal Canadiens and
Boston Bruins. On January 6, 2016, Smith performed "
You Are So Beautiful" alongside
David Foster at the ''
42nd People's Choice Awards''. During Smith's introduction, it was announced that
The Voice took its third consecutive Favorite Competition TV Show award. The track listing for Smith's debut album was announced in February 2016;
Something Beautiful was released on March 18, and took the top spot on March 22. iTunes' staff praised Smith's "fearless, confident singing, which elevates even the simplest phrases into stirring statements". Jake's Take offered a B+ grade for "the connection that Jordan had with each and every individual track that is on
Something Beautiful. I hope that for his sophomore attempt, Jordan and the Republic Records team find high quality
original material" for Smith. The
Knoxville News Sentinel gave the album three stars (out of five) for its "entirely too cautious" approach and "safe but beautiful" songs. Smith's take on "You Are So Beautiful" is "embarrassingly sterilized"; his cover of "
Beautiful", however, "is the album highlight as he taps into the life-affirming lyrics with touching gentleness". Brittany Frederick of
AXS wrote, "
Voice fans who purchase the record won't be disappointed... but it still feels like the real Jordan Smith has yet to stand up." On May 3, 2018, Jordan Smith announced via his
Instagram account that he wrote "
Ashes" for the
Deadpool 2 soundtrack, which was performed by
Celine Dion. On March 28, 2022, Smith debuted an original song, "Sparrow", on
American Song Contest, where he represented the state of
Kentucky. He placed 3rd in the Grand Final. On October 11, 2025, he appeared at "
Big Blue Madness", the beginning of the
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball and
Kentucky Wildcats women's basketball season. He sang ''
You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive'' at the introduction of Trent Noah, a men's basketball player also from Harlan, Kentucky. ==Personal life==