In 2015, Jordan Smith took home The Voice season 9 win as a member of Team Adam Levine. Now, he’s hoping to take home a second crown, repping his beloved home state of Kentucky, as the winner of NBC’s American Song Contest.
The pearly-voiced singer is that much closer to becoming the American Song Contest champ after a soaring performance of his self-penned song, “Sparrow” nabbed him the coveted Jury Selection. Jordan performed on Week 2 of the ASC qualifiers (Read our Recap).
Each week at the end of the five qualifying rounds, the 56 member Jury–one member representing each state and territory–will rank the night’s 11 performances. The act that comes out on top advances straight into the semi-finals without having to rely on viewer votes.
Jordan wrote “Sparrow” by himself
“This is a song that I wrote by myself,” Jordan told reporters after the show. “I took it into the studio, we tracked vocals many different times to get it exactly right. I worked with different producers and songwriters to bring the song to life to get to where it needed to be for the epic performance that happened tonight.”
“The song meant so much to me and it came from my heart,” Jordan said. “But you never realize how it’s going to be received.”
The lyrics to the empowering “Sparrow” are spiritual. But the Christian theme is vague enough to allow a more secular interpretation. “Let them know that you will rise above…Little Sparrow there’s a brighter day…we can own the sky…we don’t have to stay here anymore,” Jordan sang in his sweet, but powerful choir-boy tenor.
In his pre-performance video package, Jordan described performing all over the world since competing on The Voice. And to bring it all full circle, Jordan co-wrote “Ashes” for Celine Dion who won Eurovision for Switzerland in 1988.
Jordan Smith signed with a Christian label in 2020
After The Voice, Jordan released three albums on Republic Records. His debut album Something Beautiful came out in 2016, followed by the Christmas set Tis the Season later that year. Jordan dropped his third and final album for Republic, Only Love in 2018.
American Song Contest Qualifiers 2: FULL Song Studio Recordings
In 2020, Jordan signed a record deal with Provident, a Sony records Christian imprint. In his video package, Jordan shared that faith is important to many Kentuckians, and his ACS song “Sparrow” is for anyone waiting on the ground for their moment to shine.
Jordan’s powerful, wide ranging tenor made him an instant front-runner on The Voice. Uplifting power ballads are the singer’s jam. Big songs helped him win The Voice. The soaring and melodic “Sparrow” could be his ticket to win No. 2.
American Song Contest airs on NBC Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT. Kelly Clarkson and Snoop Dogg host the live telecast.
