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A very serious investigation into what the past winners of The Voice are doing now.

So, we need to talk about the elephant in the reality-TV-singing-competition room.

Yes, we’re talking about the fact not many of the past The Voice Australia winners have had much luck. Or in some cases… luck, full stop.

Currently, our 2021 judges Guy Sebastian, Keith Urban, Rita Ora and Jessica Mauboy are on the hunt for Australia’s next big star. But not since the likes of Guy and Jessica Mauboy have we seen our reality competition winners manage to crank out a number-one hit.

Watch: Here’s a bunch of things we all say while watching The Voice Australia. Post continues after video.


Video by Mamamia

While some past winners have gone on to pursue careers in the music industry, others haven’t released new music for a while.

Let’s take a look at where the most memorable The Voice Australia contestants are now.

Karise Eden – Season One, 2012.

Karise Eden was the 2012 winner of The Voice Australia. Image: Channel 9.

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Karise Eden, who was on Team Seal, became the very first winner of The Voice Australia in 2012. After winning the competition, Eden signed with Universal Music Australia and released her debut single 'You Won't Let Me'.

In the week of 25 June, 2012, four songs recorded by Eden were in the top five songs in the ARIA Singles Chart. Her first studio album, 'My Journey', also debuted at number one of the ARIA Albums Chart.

In 2014, she welcomed a son named Blayden, and gave birth to her daughter, Hartley, in January this year.

In 2018, Eden released her third studio album 'Born To Fight'. She still posts a lot of her music on Instagram.

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Harrison Craig – Season Two, 2013.

Harrison Craig was the 2013 winner of The Voice Australia. Image: Channel 9.

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In the second season of The Voice Australia, Team Seal triumphed once again when Harrison Craig took out the title.

Following his time on the show, Craig has released three albums and toured nationally around Australia.

Craig, who has lived with a stutter since he was four years old, is also an ambassador for the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. He has also written a children's book called 'Harrison's Song'.

His most recent single is called 'Even If You Say So', and he continues to look very dapper singing live in Australia and internationally.

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Anja Nissen – Season Three, 2014.

Anja Nissen was the 2014 winner of The Voice Australia. Image: Channel 9.

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Anja Nissen won season three of The Voice for Team will.i.am in 2014. After winning the show, Nissen recorded a collaboration with will.i.am and producer Cody Wise titled 'I'm So Excited'.

In 2015, Nissen's follow-up single of Bacharach and David's 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' appeared on Channel Nine's Love Child.

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In 2017, the Danish-Australian singer represented Denmark in Eurovision with her song, 'Where Am I', thanks to her Danish parents. She placed in the final 20.

Nissen now lives in California and released two new singles in 2020; 'If We Only Had Tonight' and 'Can't Do This.'

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Ellie Drennan – Season Four, 2015.

Ellie Drennan was the 2015 winner of The Voice Australia. Image: Channel 9.

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In 2015, at just 15 years old, Team Jessie J contestant Ellie Drennan was crowned The Voice Australia winner.

Drennan's winning single 'Ghost' reached No. 25 on the charts following her win, and a second single, 'Hard Love', peaked at No. 41 in 2016.

The 19-year-old released a song called 'Taxi' in December, 2019.

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Alfie Arcuri – Season Five, 2016.

Alfie Arcuri was the 2016 winner of The Voice Australia. Image: Channel 9.

Alfie Arcuri, from Team Delta, won The Voice Australia in 2016, seeing him release his debut album 'Zenith', which reached number five on the ARIA charts and included his original song, 'Cruel'.

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Since then he has released a few original singles, including 'If They Only Knew' and 'Love is Love', which have struggled to climb up the charts.

In May 2019, the 31-year-old released another single, 'Same', which he wrote himself.

In 2019, he also auditioned to be Australia's entry for Eurovision 2019 in SBS's first-ever Eurovision – Australia Decides competition. The former Voice winner placed fifth, with Kate Miller-Heidke ultimately winning the vote.

By the looks of Instagram, Acuri loves hanging out with his family and his French Bulldog.

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Earlier this year, he released another single: 'Handsome Man'.

Judah Kelly – Season Six, 2017.

Judah Kelly was the 2017 winner of The Voice Australia. Image: Channel 9.

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Another Team Delta contestant, Judah Kelly won the prize money and record deal in 2017. 

Kelly released his single and album after the grand finale, both titled 'Count on Me'.

The country-inspired singer released a second album 'Real Good Time' in 2018, and today, he mainly uses social media to share his progress at the gym.

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Sam Perry – Season Seven, 2018.

Sam Perry was the 2018 winner of The Voice Australia. Image: Channel 9.

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Vocal loop artist Sam Perry, who was mentored by Kelly Rowland, won the show in 2018.

Perry's time in the competition was a bit controversial last year after Boy George called him "a DJ", before stating, "It's called The Voice, not The Technology."

Nevertheless, Sam dominated the public's votes and took home the title and recording deal.

His winning single 'Trust Myself' reached No. 78 on the ARIA charts.

Towards the end of 2018, the singer commenced a tour around Australia, titled "Not A DJ".

In 2019, he continued to play shows and even caught up with Boy George at The Logies.

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Diana Rouvas – Season Eight, 2019.

Diana Rouvas and Boy George. Image: Channel 9.

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Diana Rouvas took out The Voice Australia 2019 title under the mentorship of Boy George.

She immediately released her winner's single Wait For No One. In January 2020, Rouvas dropped a new single called 'Can We Make Heaven'.

Rouvas played some shows in the Adelaide Fringe Festival, and then... coronavirus hit. Nothing like a pandemic to stall the winner's momentum.

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Chris Sebastian - Season Nine, 2020

Chris Sebastian was the 2020 winner of the Voice Australia. Image: Nine.

Guy Sebastian's brother, Chris Sebastian, took out the title of The Voice Australia in 2020, under the mentorship of Kelly Rowland.

Since then, he has released two singles: 'Hard to Get to Love', and 'Wasted On Me'.

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Sebastian has also gained a following on TikTok where he shares music and comedy videos.

Feature Image: Instagram.

Who do you think will win The Voice Australia 2021? Tell us in the comments below!

This post was originally published on June 6, 2020, and was updated on August 29, 2021.