Where is Jordan Smith Now? 'The Voice' Season 9 Winner Talks His Career-Changing New Album (Exclusive)

As hard as it may be to believe, it’s been 10 years since Jordan Smith won Season 9 of The Voice. And, in a funny coincidence, Jordan is releasing a new album, The People’s Hymnal, at the same time that his winning coach Adam Levine is returning to The Voice for the first time since his 2019 Season 16 departure.

Adam’s return may open the door for an appearance by Jordan once the show gets to the live performances and has room for guest artists. He says his answer is always yes when he’s invited back to the show, which he credits for launching his music career and starting his fanbase.

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“I love The Voice family,” Jordan tells Parade. “There are still so many people that work there. Even behind the scenes, the team there is so incredible, and every time I get to go back and see them, it’s like a family reunion. So, of course, I would love to see all those people and work with them again. It’s an incredible platform to be able to go there and share music.”

The music he would be sharing is off his new hymns album, The People’s Hymnal, which will be released on Feb. 21, but which already has seen the release of a single, “The Blood.”

“With an album like mine that is so deeply about the message, I would love to be able to share one of these songs, or even a performance on the show at some point,” Jordan says.

Related: Watch the Season 27 The Voice Coaches' First Performance of an Elton John Song

What makes The People’s Hymnal stand out from Jordan’s previous albums Something Beautiful, ‘Tis the Season, and Only Love is that it’s a compilation of songs that are very authentic to him as they’re songs that he grew up singing.

“They feel as much mine as a song could that I didn’t write myself. They’ve just been staples throughout my life, songs that I’ve always known,” he says. “And so, to get to record them on a project like this is a dream of mine since I was on The Voice, and I was able to sing ‘Great Is Thy Faithfulness.’ That was a turning-point moment for me on the show, and honestly an extremely defining moment in my career as an artist.”

So, while Jordan didn’t write any of these hymns–many of which date back centuries–he has been very involved in the record since its conception. It was his vision; he chose the songs and had input into the arrangements.

“So much of it came from my heart and from my creative brain,” he continues. “To see it all the way through to the end and be a part of the whole recording process, mixing, mastering, even up to the promotion of this record, I’ve been heavily involved in, and so it feels deeply personal to me, it means a lot to me as a person.”

Below is more of our conversation with Jordan about his time since winning The Voice, his relationship with Adam Levine and what is next for him with the release of The People’s Hymnal.

Related: Get the Details on The Voice Season 27, Including a Photo of the New Coaches

It’s been 10 years since you won The Voice. Talk a little bit about what that platform has done to launch your career, and do you credit it for your success?
First of all, it’s hard to believe that it’s actually been 10 years, that is crazy to me, but what a 10 years it’s been. I owe my entire platform and everything that’s happened since that time, to not only the viewership and the fanbase that I was able to gain from being a part of The Voice, but also from the growing and transforming of myself as an artist and as a person that I experienced during my time on the show.

It was a game-changer for me in so many ways. Obviously, it brought me exposure and thrust me into this spotlight, into this career that I’ve been fortunate enough now to stretch over the last 10 years. But it was very formative for me as an artist. It really did help me to learn who I was as an artist and what I have to say. I only have good things to say about The Voice, it’s something I look back on very fondly.

Season 27 is starting, and Adam Levine is back as a coach. Have you stayed in touch?
Through the years, there have been times and moments when we’ve interacted, and I know that he has been a supporter of mine. He has always been so kind. Not that I didn’t expect him to be nice, but he is just the most genuine, kind person. He’s so talented, and so to be able to stay in touch with him and know that we support each other and believe in each other has been special.

You said the hymns on the album aren’t your songs, but they feel like your songs now. How did they become yours?
Listening through, there are a lot of people who will recognize the song list and the titles of the tracks, but they won’t necessarily recognize the arrangement of the song. We were, in a lot of ways, able to bring something fresh to so many of these songs that it feels really authentic to me. That’s something I’ve always enjoyed doing. Even when I was on The Voice, I didn’t want to just sing a song, I wanted to bring something that was Jordan Smith’s version of whatever song it was that I was singing that was authentic to me.

And so, we took a lot of creative liberty on this album, while still trying to bring honor and show respect and reverence to these songs and what they’ve meant to so many people. Some of these songs have been around for centuries. So, we still wanted to show reverence and honor. But we definitely took some creative liberties and tried to go into the studio and collaborate and have fun, imagining and dreaming up where these songs could go with a group of really talented musicians who weren’t afraid to take a crack at something unique.

Is this something that you’re hoping to tour with, to bring it out to people?
We’re working on it now, and it’s something I definitely think lends itself to a live music setting. When I listen to this album, like so many other people will, I can imagine these on the stage with a great band, just having fun, the audience singing along, collectively enjoying these songs that mean so much to all of us. I think the live element’s going to be important for that and I’m excited to hopefully hit the road and share them face to face with people.

Do you enjoy touring?
Touring is its own beast; it’s its own thing. The older I get, the less I love the touring part of it. I’m a homebody, so I love being home with my family and enjoying time with them, so being on the road is a totally unique challenge, but the thing that makes it so worth it is the interactions and the connections that you make with people.

I love people, and that’s one of the main reasons why I’m even making music this day and time is because it connects me to people. People are able to feel seen and heard when they listen to music, and people are able to connect with me and connect with other people over these songs. And so, connecting with people, building those kinds of relationships, and getting to interact with people face to face and share that joy of music with them, makes all of the other not-so-fun stuff worth it.

As we’ve discussed, it’s been 10 years since The Voice. Talk about some of the highlights of your career since that time.
Oh, my gosh, there’s been so many, so, so many. One of my favorite interactions actually happened partially on The Voice, and then we were able to connect a few times since then. I was connected with Henry Winkler. I love him so much. He’s so sweet, so that’s been one of the people that I’ve been able to connect with. I’ve shared the stage with so many people, and I’ve had so many pinch-me moments. I’ve sung with Jordin Sparks, I was on stage with Patti LaBelle at the Songwriters Hall of Fame. I got to meet Sarah Bareilles, who’s like my No. 1 all-time favorite artist.

I’ve gotten to work with and write with legendary songwriters. I got to write with Carol Bayer Sager and I’ve gotten to work with Jonas Myrin, who’s written some of my absolute favorite Christian songs in the world. Collaborating with David Foster on my early work was a dream come true.

Another thing to add to the list was getting to write a song for Céline Dion, the song “Ashes” that Céline performed for the movie Deadpool 2. I went from this super small town where I dreamt maybe someday of being able to make a living as a music teacher or doing something that involves music just so I can pay the bills, and then I find myself on the red carpet at a movie premiere for the No. 2 movie in the entire world, having written a song for arguably one of the greatest singers of all time, Céline Dion.

Also one of the highlights–because of who he is as a person–I’ve worked with a producer named Tommee Profitt, who’s a wildly successful producer for the rapper NF. And I was able to be on his Christmas project, which has now been so wildly successful, and just collaborate with a number of artists performing on stage for that, so we’ve had so many incredible milestones just over the years. Being a part of the American Song Contest on NBC was a really big one.

You finished in the top five, right?
Yeah, I was third. So that was the best I could ask for considering the caliber of talent on that show. There’s just been so many career highs, we’ve gotten to literally travel the world. We’ve been to Europe, we’ve been all over North America; we just got back from New Zealand this year. Sharing music literally in the corners of the world and having so much fun doing it. It’s a dream come true. I couldn’t ask for anything more than that.

Related: The Voice Winner Sofronio Vasquez Reveals Big Plans With Michael Bublé

One thing that you didn’t mention is your high school renamed its performing arts center in your honor.
Yes! Which is so incredible. Honestly, I feel super undeserving of it, and I think I’ll probably have it petitioned to be changed to my high school music teacher’s name or something like that. I’m just so honored that they would consider putting my name on a space that was so influential for me. I discovered my love for music in that space, and I spent years growing as a musician, learning the foundations of what it meant to be an artist inside those walls.

And so, for my name to be on it now and for so many people, my own nephews are now taking band classes under the sign with my name in that performing arts wing, that’s something that makes me emotional because it’s so special. That’s legacy, you know? That’s something that I get to pass down to the next generations, and so, honestly, that is a big highlight for me.

Jordan’s The People's Hymnal album via Gaither Music Group is set to release on February 21. The Voice returns for its 27^th season tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Episodes stream the next day on Peacock.

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