Is Adam Levine Actually a Good Coach on ‘The Voice’? Here’s What His Track Record Says.
NBC Reading Time: 4 minutes
Adam Levine and Blake Shelton have been the only two coaches to appear on every season of The Voice. They are staples of the show and its comedy is built on their bromantic, frenemy relationship. But after 16 seasons, Blake has won the show six times, while Adam has only won three. And now, Adam only has four artists going in to the Top 24, the fewest of any team.
So why is that? Does Adam just not pull the talent that other coaches do? Or could it be a lack of strategy that leads to his downfall? Let’s investigate Adam’s coaching through the years.
Team Adam Success Stories
Adam’s first win came in season one of The Voice with Javier Colon. Javier’s Blind Audition of “Time After Time” is still regarded as one of the best in The Voice history. Because of the format of the show in season one, each coach had the same number of team members each week, including one artist each for the Finale. These four singers were the same ones who were voted through by the public in the Live Shows. And in the Semifinals, Javier had the highest score combined from his coach and the voting audience. So it’s no surprise he went on to win!
Adam’s next win didn’t come until season five, with Tessanne Chin. Tessanne was a solid singer but had a lot of competition against artists like Jacquie Lee, Matthew Schuler, and Will Champlin. She emerged as the front-runner by staying consistent and nailing huge covers like “I Have Nothing.” But, specifically talking about that song choice, Adam Levine explained his selection in the show by saying (and I’m paraphrasing here) “no other song is on this level so I basically had to pick it.” Wow, great strategy there. He had to justify his unoriginal song choices somehow. But of course, Tessanne could handle the tall order and took home the win.
In season seven, Adam managed to have three of the four finalists on his team. What an accomplishment! He was the first and only coach to ever do this. But unfortunately, none of his singers could pull out the win, even fan favorite Matt McAndrew. Call it what you will, splitting Adam’s fan votes or his finalists not delivering in the Finale, but Team Blake beat him out yet again. Matt’s single “Wasted Love” made it to #1 on the iTunes charts too! Brutal.
Adam’s most recent win was in season nine with Jordan Smith, SEVEN seasons ago. Now let’s all be honest with ourselves here, Jordan was destined to win from the moment his Blind Audition started. Whatever coach he picked would’ve been the winning coach. With a voice as impressive and unexpected as Jordan’s, that’s what The Voice is all about. It’s not that Adam Levine didn’t do anything to coach him, but giving him “Hallelujah” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” to sing? Come on man.
The Downfall of Team Adam
It’s basically been all downhill from there for Team Adam. The coach hasn’t had a finalist the past two seasons and even now, he only has four artists left on his team in the Top 24. His team members only won TWO of their Live Cross-Battles. That’s gotta hurt! On top of that, he saved Domenic Haynes (who, in my opinion, earned it) and stole Betsy Ade. Still not sure why that happened. Meanwhile, Kelly and John have 6 singers left and Blake has 8. Not a good look for one of the original coaches to be so far behind already.
It’s also worth mentioning that throughout the years, Adam has had more four-chair-turners on his team than any other coach. Plus, we can’t forget Robegate last season, when Adam Levine sold out his own team member DeAndre Nico to encourage viewers at home to vote for Reagan Strange, who did not even perform in the Instant Save. He got a lot of backlash for that move. And understandably so! Coaches are supposed to be supportive of all their team members but that is not always the case with Adam.
Is Adam a Good Coach? It’s Simple…
So looking at the track record, the results are clear! Adam has only won with artists who were front-runners from the beginning and he’s straight up sold out his own team members live on the show. I think that speaks for itself on whether or not you should pick Team Adam if he turns his chair for you, especially against powerhouses with proven results like Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson.
