Introduction
Josh Kaufman (born 9 November 1975) is an American soul singer and singer-songwriter based out of and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is best known for winning the sixth season of NBC's The Voice as a member of Usher's team and previously Adam Levine's team.
Early life
Kaufman was born in Sarasota, Florida, the son of Beth Gilbert, minister of music at a church in Blacksburg, Virginia; and Mark Kaufman, who runs a roofing company. His stepfather, Rev. Richard Gilbert, is the pastor at a church in Blacksburg, Virginia. While in Blacksburg, he was a member of the Blacksburg High School Madrigals, an elite choir. He grew up in Lake Wales, Florida until his freshman year of high school. He and his mother moved to Blacksburg, Virginia where he attended and graduated from Blacksburg High School. His musical talent appeared early in his life. At sixteen, he appeared on Star Search and in 2011, Kaufman auditioned for the first season of Simon Cowell's The X Factor (U.S.). He attended Anderson University and graduated from IUPUI.
Kaufman is a member of the band The New Etiquette (formerly known as Josh Kaufman and the Frequency), an Indianapolis based rock and soul band. The band was formed in 2010 with original band members Josh Kaufman, Ryan Koch, and Nate Gray. The band released a six track self-titled EP in spring 2012 drawing on the musical talents of several local musicians.
From 2011-2014 Kaufman was a musical staple at Potbelly Sandwich Shop in Indianapolis, and also worked as an SAT prep tutor.
Career
The Voice
On the fifth episode of the Blind Auditions broadcast on March 10, 2014, he performed George Michael's song "One More Try." All four judges turned their chairs and Kaufman chose to join team Adam. Kaufman defeated fellow Team Adam member Austin Ellis in the Battles, Round 1. Kaufman lost his second battle round competition against Delvin Choice but was immediately stolen by Team Usher. Kaufman received the first iTunes bonus multiplier of the season, with his studio recording of "Stay With Me" reaching the fifth position on the iTunes Top 200 Singles chart at the close of the voting window.
On May 20, 2014, Kaufman was announced as the winner of Season 6 of The Voice, beating out runners-up Jake Worthington and Christina Grimmie and making him not only the first artist from Team Usher to win, but the first "stolen" artist to win and the first Caucasian male winner, besides also being the oldest participant to win the competition.
- - Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes
| Stage | Song | Original Artist | Date | Order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blind Audition | "One More Try" | George Michael | March 10, 2014 | 5.18 | All four chairs turned Joined Team Adam |
| Battles, Round 1 | "Happy" (vs. Austin Ellis) | Pharrell Williams | March 24, 2014 | 11.1 | Saved by Coach |
| Battles, Round 2 | "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" (vs. Delvin Choice) | Stevie Wonder | March 31, 2014 | 14.6 | Defeated Stolen by Usher |
| The Playoffs | "It Will Rain" | Bruno Mars | April 15, 2014 | 19.5 | Saved by Coach |
| Live Top 12 | "Stay with Me" | Sam Smith | April 21, 2014 | 20.12 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 10 | "This is It" | Kenny Loggins | April 28, 2014 | 22.4 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 8 | "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Bonnie Raitt | May 5, 2014 | 24.2 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 5 (Semifinals) | "All of Me" | John Legend | May 12, 2014 | 26.2 | Saved by Public Vote |
| "Love Runs Out" | OneRepublic | 26.6 | |||
| Live Finale | "Every Breath You Take" (with Usher) | The Police | May 19, 2014 | 28.2 | Winner |
| "One More Try" | George Michael | 28.4 | |||
| "Set Fire to the Rain" | Adele | 28.9 |
Later career
Kaufman participated in the Indy Jazz Fest in September 2014. Kaufman appeared at the Indiana State Fair in August 2014. He was the final actor to play the title role in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin, which closed in early 2015.
Personal life
Kaufman is married to Jennifer Myer and they have five children as of November 2016. They live in Indianapolis, Indiana where Kaufman sings with his band The New Etiquette.
Discography
Albums
- The New Etiquette (2012)
- Do You Want Love
- On Me
- That Train
- Falling Again
- Waving Goodbye
- Out the Door
- Josh Kaufman (2016)
- Truth Be Told
- All I Ask
- Avalanche
- Paycheck
- The World
- Digging Deep
Singles
The New Etiquette (2012)
- "Do You Want Love (Radio Only)"
Releases from The Voice
Albums
| Album | Details | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Digital | ||
| The Complete Season 6 Collection (The Voice Performance) |
| 92 | 14 |
Singles
| Single | Peak chart positions | Original artist | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Heat | US Digital | |||||
| "One More Try" | — | — | — | George Michael | |||
| "Happy" | — | — | — | Pharrell Williams | |||
| "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" | — | — | 19 | Stevie Wonder | |||
| "It Will Rain" | — | — | — | Bruno Mars | |||
| "Stay with Me" | 92 | 9 | 5 | Sam Smith | |||
| "This Is It" | — | — | 38 | Kenny Loggins | |||
| "I Can't Make You Love Me" | 71 | 4 | 2 | Bonnie Raitt | |||
| "All of Me" | — | 13 | 4 | John Legend | |||
| "Love Runs Out" | — | — | 13 | OneRepublic | |||
| "Every Breath You Take" | — | — | 12 | The Police | |||
| "Set Fire to the Rain" | — | 19 | 28 | Adele | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||