- 2 minutes ago
Many music superstars first made their mark on competition shows before hitting it big. From Tori Kelly’s early appearances as a child prodigy to Morgan Wallen’s country roots on “The Voice,” and Pentatonix’s a cappella win, these singers turned reality TV exposure into lasting success. Discover the surprising origins of your favorite artists and how their competition show beginnings shaped their incredible careers.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most prominent musicians
00:04who actually got their start on talent shows.
00:07I started singing a year ago.
00:09A year ago?
00:11Yeah, I didn't know I could sing before a year ago.
00:15Tori Kelly, America's Most Talented Kid
00:17Before the powerhouse vocals and Grammy-winning gospel work,
00:21Tori Kelly cut her teeth on a string of talent shows,
00:24most prominently on the short-lived NBC series, America's Most Talented Kid.
00:30They can do what they wanna say, what they wanna say, oh well.
00:35Say what they wanna do, gonna, gonna, gonna keep on.
00:40In 2004, the then 11-year-old appeared on the show,
00:44singing Christina Aguilera's Keep On Singin' My Song and beating a young Hunter Hayes.
00:49She later returned for the show's Tournament of Champions, where she lost to Antonio Pontarelli.
00:55Kelly also appeared on American Idol, but failed to reach the top 24.
01:00You're hot then you're cold, you're yes then you're no, you're in then you're out, you're up then you're down,
01:07you're wrong when it's right, it's black and it's white.
01:11She then built an audience through YouTube, released her self-produced Handmade Songs EP in 2012, and signed with Scooter
01:18Braun the following year.
01:19Her 2015 debut, Unbreakable Smile, reached number two on the charts, and earned her a Grammy nomination for Best New
01:26Artist.
01:27It should've been it, should've been the fire, should've been the perfect storm, it should've been it.
01:35Pentatonix, The Sing-Off
01:36You can't talk about acapella music today without bringing up Pentatonix.
01:40Back in 2011, Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi, Kirsten Maldonado, Avi Kaplan, and Kevin Alushala formed the group and entered the
01:49third season of NBC's The Sing-Off.
01:57Run for your children, for your sisters and your brothers.
01:59Their polished arrangements and pristine beatboxing helped them survive an expanded 16-group field, and they ultimately won the competition
02:08in the finale.
02:09The prize included $200,000 and a Sony recording contract.
02:13I'm just so humbled to have shared the stage with my best friends, they're my family, and these 16 amazing
02:19groups, I can't believe this is happening.
02:21After the show, Pentatonix turned that television victory into a global career, releasing successful EPs and albums, and building a
02:29huge YouTube audience with billions of views.
02:32I need your love, I need your time, when everything's wrong, you make it right.
02:39Their 2014 arrangement of Daft Punk's hits earned the group its first Grammy, with more wins following its subsequent years.
02:47Work it harder, make it better, everything's a stronger boy, and a little after all of what is ever over.
02:54Melanie Martinez, The Voice
02:56Conceptual albums in the pop genre got a renaissance in the mid-2010s with the rise of Melanie Martinez.
03:02D-O-L-L-H-O-U-S-E
03:06I see things that nobody else see
03:10But before she dropped her critically acclaimed debut album Cry Baby, Martinez was a contestant trying to stand out on
03:17The Voice.
03:18At 17, Martinez auditioned for the show's third season with Britney Spears' Toxic, earning turns from Adam Levine and CeeLo
03:26Green before joining Team Adam.
03:28Dice on the lips, Sam on a ride
03:39Her stripped-down arrangements and two-tone hair already hinted at the aesthetic she would develop later.
03:45Martinez reached the top six before being eliminated.
03:48The show gave her national exposure, but she ultimately built her own lane after signing with Atlantic Records.
03:55Cry Baby introduced the conceptual world that would become central to her music.
04:08The Miss Mojo dollhouse is full of celebrity secrets and pop culture rabbit holes just waiting to be uncovered.
04:15Scan the QR code on your screen to join the 24-7 livestream and dive even deeper.
04:20Everyone thinks that we're perfect. Please don't let them look through the door.
04:27Morgan Wallen, The Voice
04:29Chasing you like those goodbye tail lights. Headed west to anywhere.
04:37These days, Morgan Wallen is one of country music's biggest commercial names, which makes his brief stint on The Voice
04:43easy to overlook.
04:45In 2014, the Tennessee singer auditioned for season six and initially joined Usher's team before being stolen by Adam Levine.
04:53Wallen made the show's top 20, but his playoff performance of One Republic's stay ended his run.
04:59Would it make you, make you, make you wanna stay, or would it make you, make you wanna stay?
05:12Rather than becoming another reality show success story, he developed a distinctly country career afterward.
05:18His 2018 debut album, If I Know Me, eventually produced multiple major hits, while Dangerous, the double album, became a
05:26blockbuster and topped the Billboard 200 for weeks.
05:29Just thinking about all I've wasted on you, all of this time and all of this money.
05:36He has since collected major country awards and become a dominant figure on the Billboard charts.
05:42Carly Rae Jepsen, Canadian Idol
05:52Before Call Me Maybe turned Carly Rae Jepsen into an international pop phenomenon, she was a third place finalist on
05:59Canadian Idol.
06:00In 2007, during the show's fifth season, Jepsen made it all the way to the finale, finishing behind winner Brian
06:07Mello and runner-up J.D. Bixby.
06:09There will be no white flags but my door
06:14I've been loved and I always will be
06:18The competition helped raise her profile in Canada, but her sound at first looked nothing like the glossy pop that
06:25would follow.
06:26Her 2008 debut album, Tug of War, leaned heavily into folk and singer-songwriter territory.
06:31Talk of war, sweet as sin
06:35I let go, I fell ill
06:40Then came 2012's Call Me Maybe, which exploded internationally and topped charts around the world.
06:46From there, Jepsen embraced sophisticated hook-heavy pop and has since built a devoted following with unapologetic pop craftsmanship that
06:54shows no sign of stopping.
06:56Don't give it up
06:57Don't say it hurts
06:59Cause there's nothing like the feeling, baby, now that I've found you
07:05Benson Boone, American Idol
07:07There aren't a lot of singers who get the opportunity to compete on American Idol and then choose to walk
07:12away from it.
07:13Benson Boone auditioned for season 19 of the show in 2021 with Aiden Martin's Punchline, earning yes votes from all
07:20three judges.
07:21I guess my heart never learns
07:24There's no use in fighting
07:26Don't hurt
07:28If you'll never hear when it hurts
07:32He advanced through Hollywood Week and reached the top 24, but withdrew before the televised portion because he wanted to
07:39pursue his own music.
07:41That decision proved consequential.
07:43Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds discovered Boone's work and signed him to Night Street Records in partnership with Warner Records.
07:50Cause it feels so mystical
07:58His 2024 debut album Fireworks and Rollerblades launched his career with the lead single Beautiful Things becoming a worldwide hit.
08:06Beautiful things that I've got
08:08Please stay
08:12I want you, I need you, I need you, I got you
08:15Zara Larsson, Talang
08:17Far from the others
08:20Close to each other
08:22That's what we uncover
08:25Sweden knew about Zara Larsson long before the rest of the world caught up.
08:30In 2008, at just 10 years old, she auditioned for the second season of Talang, the Swedish equivalent of Got
08:36Talent, and won.
08:38The victory earned Larsson 500,000 Swedish kroner and made her a national child star.
08:53She continued developing her music before signing with 10 Music Group in 2012 and releasing her debut EP, Introducing the
09:01Following Year.
09:02Her international breakthrough came with Lush Life, which was one of the best selling songs of the 2010s in the
09:08UK.
09:17Then in 2025, she released her fifth album Midnight Sun, which brought her renewed success.
09:23It may have taken a few years, but Larson eventually became the global pop star she always wanted to be.
09:29We ain't gotta tell no one
09:31A never-ending midnight sun
09:38Nicole Scherzinger
09:39Pop stars
09:40The Pussycat Dolls era tends to overshadow everything that came before it in Nicole Scherzinger's story.
09:47But it's worth remembering that her first real industry moment came on a competition show.
10:01In 2001, Scherzinger auditioned for the WB's Pop Stars USA and was selected to join the manufactured girl group Eden's
10:09Crush.
10:09Their debut single, Get Over Yourself, became an immediate success, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
10:24The group soon dissolved, but Scherzinger kept moving.
10:28She later joined the Pussycat Dolls, where her vocals helped drive hits such as Don't Ya and Buttons.
10:41A solo career, television work, and Broadway followed, making that early-reality TV chapter surprisingly easy to forget.
10:57Miranda Lambert
10:59Nashville Star
11:003rd place doesn't usually read like the beginning of a legend, but Miranda Lambert has never played by conventional rules.
11:07Go and fix your makeup, girl! It's just a breakup run and hide your crazy and start acting like a
11:15lady!
11:15In 2003, she auditioned for the very first season of Nashville Star, performing an original song called Greyhound Bound for
11:23Nowhere, which she co-wrote with her father, Rick Lambert.
11:26Her songwriting and country vocals carried her through the competition, where she ultimately finished 3rd.
11:32When I die, I may not go to heaven. Well, I don't know where they let cowboys in.
11:42The exposure helped Lambert secure a recording deal, and her debut album Kerosene arrived in 2005, producing a number one
11:49country hit with its title track.
11:51From there, she built a career defined by sharp songwriting and big vocals, and is today one of the genre's
11:58most prominent stars.
12:05If you love games, be sure to check out WatchMojo's new game, Terrible Influence, just launched for purchase at TerribleInfluence
12:13.com.
12:13Terrible Influence is a satirical board game about the dark side of fame from the writer of the most popular
12:18girls in school and us, WatchMojo.
12:21Boom. I can make an apology video.
12:23Oh, you so would.
12:24Click on the link in the description to check out the game and be the first to play Terrible Influence.
12:30Beyoncé, Star Search.
12:33I'm a grown woman. Yeah.
12:36I can do whatever I want. Whatever I want.
12:40Many A-list celebrities today cut their teeth as contestants on the talent show Star Search.
12:45What makes this one less known is that Beyoncé didn't compete as a solo contestant, but as a member of
12:51a girl group called Girls Time,
12:53which included Future Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland.
12:57Unless you promise me that you won't tease me.
13:02It's about new love, ooh, in my space.
13:06Girls Time reached the final, but lost to the rock group Skeleton Crew, receiving three stars to their opponent's four.
13:12Beyoncé later described the defeat as formative and incorporated audio from the competition into her song Flawless.
13:19Welcome Beyoncé, Lativia, Nina, Nikki, Kelly, and Ashley, the hip-hop rappin' Girls Time.
13:29The setback did not stop her.
13:31Girls Time evolved, personnel changed, and eventually became Destiny's Child.
13:36Beyoncé later launched a solo career that has produced one of the most influential catalogs of all time.
13:41I ain't thinking about you.
13:51What other music careers were born on competition shows?
13:54Let us know in the comments below.
Comments