“I’m Proud of Him”: Adam Levine Reflects on Morgan Wallen’s Journey Since ‘The Voice’

Adam Levine has underlined that he feels “proud” of his former The Voice team-member Morgan Wallen, with the Maroon 5 hitmaker discussing Wallen's time on the TV show.

Wallen's name got brought up after Evan James, a 22-year-old contestant from Highland, Michigan, decided to sing the country chart-topper's hit single, ‘Wasted On You’, for his Blind Audition. His performance prompted a three-chair turn from Kelly Clarkson, Riley Green and Adam Levine, with James ultimately picking Levine.

Wallen was part of Levine's team on Season 6 of The Voice back in 2014, with the ‘Thought You Should Know’ singer-songwriter initially joining Team Usher, before being ‘stolen’ by Levine in the Battle Rounds. Wallen was later eliminated in the Playoffs.

During a conversation after James’ audition, the interviewer asks Levine, “What's it like for you to hear someone audition with a song by someone you once coached?”

The ‘Sugar’ crooner pays tribute to how far Wallen has gone since his time on The Voice over ten years ago, gushing, “Morgan obviously worked it out. So I'm proud of him”.

Levine goes on to use Wallen as an example of what the judges hope other contestants can go on to achieve in the music industry after leaving The Voice, “He had some humble beginnings at The Voice on my team. That's all we want for these guys, is for them to go out there and have a shot and be successful. Yeah, it's pretty cool”.

Wallen's stint on The Voice is now seen as a fascinating example of how hard it can be to predict the next big stars in music. Now, of course, the Sneedville native is one of the most popular artists on the planet, selling out stadiums across North America and dominating the Billboard 200 every time he releases a new album.

But back then, he was a diamond in the rough, singing pop songs and getting voted off as soon as he tried to showcase his country chops with Florida Georgia Line's ‘Stay’.

Another of modern country's leading figures, Luke Combs, wasn't even given an audition on The Voice, again underlining how hard it can be to spot early, unpolished talent.

We wonder whether Wallen will ever grace The Voice stage again for a nostalgic performance. Our guess, in all honesty, is no, with the country maverick seemingly too big and perhaps still too controversial for a comeback of this kind. Either way, though, it highlights The Voice's ongoing role as a premier springboard from which artists can launch their careers, with Wallen's success-story after The Voice no doubt offering additional motivation to the Season 30 candidates.

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