Craig Wayne Boyd’s New Challenge: Abject Obscurity
NBC’s hit singing competition The Voice crowned a new champion last week, and for the first time in the competition’s history, the winner is a country male. Craig Wayne Boyd slayed all comers on his way to being crowned the Season 7 victor, and now goes about the task of doing the distinction justice by trying to become a successful country music star beyond the spotlight of the television franchise. But as we’ve seen from the previous winners of The Voice, the challenge of overcoming obscurity in a crowded entertainment world isn’t resolved as the winner of a reality show, it is just beginning.
It’s a slightly unfair characterization that the winners of these reality shows don’t really put the work in like average Joe artists who have to climb their way up the ladder to earn a living in music. Though it’s condensed during the run of a television season, reality show contestants are put through a grindstone and unparalleled vetting process many in the mainstream of music could never persevere through and end up on top. In the case of Craig Wayne Boyd, he actually did do his time hitting the honky tonks, playing empty bar rooms, and trying to make it in music the hard way before being selected by The Voice. But his hardest challenge might still lie ahead. Because if he’s to become a successful music star as a champion of The Voice, he’d arguably the the first in the show’s history.
Forget that The Voice is one of the highest-rated shows on NBC, and one of the most popular shows in all of television. The legacy of the competition is for the winners to sink right back down into obscurity after the season finale. And in fairness, this is the fate befalling many of the recent winners of American Idol as well. This is the same thing Saving Country Music pointed out in May when another country artist, a more traditional country artist named Jake Worthington made it to The Voice finale.
Have you ever heard of Justin Guarini? How about Diana DeGarmo? Blake Lewis, anybody? Or how about Lee DeWyze? Does Dia Frampton ring a bell with anyone? Anyone? … Great for this kid [Jake Worthington], and great that good, real country music is being exposed to the masses through him. But how many times have we been through this exercise with one of these reality show contestants, wondering if they are the ones that will rise out of the unclean masses to save country music with big reality show exposure? … But the reason that The ‘X’ Factor was canceled, the reason that ‘American Idol’ has seen dramatically-declining ratings, and ‘The Voice’ has remained stagnant, is because these competitions cannot consistently deliver winners that truly are American Idols, or that truly define “The Voice” of a generation.
Has anyone heard from Jake Worthington lately? And that was only back in May when Worthington made it to the very end of the show. But this is another problem for The Voice and its finalists: doubling up on the seasons—something mainstay judge Blake Shelton has complained about publicly. It creates even more winners crammed into the crowded talent field looking to become franchise stars.
On Thursday, TMZ ran a story on Craig Wayne Boyd under the dubious pretense that he was avoiding his fans. Whether it’s true or not (or God forbid, Mr. Boyd had somewhere to be and couldn’t spend a half hour taking selfies with gawking celebrity crotch sniffers), the underlying poke of the TMZ story is that nobody on the TMZ staff knew who the hell Craig Wayne Boyd was. And this was only 48 hours after his huge win on one of America’s most-watched TV shows. “All right, it’s that dude who just won ‘The Voice!’ What’s his name again, John Wayne Gasy?” the commentator chides at the beginning, and Boyd’s nondescript easy-to-forget name and likeness becomes the running gag throughout the piece.
These reality singing competitions have become so woefully inept at launching true stars, everywhere you turn, this is the punchline. And the reason it’s so funny is because it’s so true.
Craig Wayne Boyd accomplished some things for true country music no other contestant on The Voice, or really any other reality competition has done before. His raising of awareness of Wayne Mills with his late season tribute to his old mentor was as touching as it was effective. Putting a Johnny Cash song back on the Billboard charts—a place it hadn’t been in over three decades—is also and accomplishment Craig Wayne Boys deserves credit for.
But now the lofty weight of obscurity has been firmly ensconced back above Craig Wayne Boyd’s head once again, and though his win on The Voice will always be a notch on his belt, he will have to go out there and prove his muster as a performer in the big scary mainstream country music world all over again. In the end, it’s all about the music, and Craig Wayne Boyd must prove it with successful albums and singles. Because not only will few be impressed by his win on The Voice, few will even remember it.
December 22, 2014 @ 9:42 am
I don’t know, Jason Isbell is pretty successful, didn’t he win the Voice?
December 22, 2014 @ 9:49 am
If we could call these programs what they are – game shows – we might be able to kick the pretense that they make stars of the contestants. Viewers aren’t liable to remember their names any more than they do the latest Jeopardy champions.
December 22, 2014 @ 9:55 am
The reason these shows draw so many viewers is because they promise making superstars out of the contestants. If they can’t commonly deliver on that promise, then the reasons for watching slowly fade away. That is what we have seen with American Idol.
Who knows, Craig Wayne Boyd may go on to be huge in music. But if he does it, he will be defying the odds.
December 22, 2014 @ 10:13 am
I”™m of two minds on the whole thing. On the one hand, it sucks for the artists themselves ”” not least of all because of what some of them could do for their chosen genre, a perfect example being the things Craig Wayne Boyd did that you talk about here.
On the other hand, it”™s a blessing in disguise; anything that knocks Blake Shelton down a notch or two is A-OK with me, what with him claiming to be The Decider and all that.
December 22, 2014 @ 10:09 am
It’s a shame because CWB is a talented singer. I have to question how much effort gets put into marketing the winners. Probably not much, based on no one remembering past winners. This show ‘ s only goal is a publicity boon for the judges. The only value it has for me is seeing seemingly genuine moments like CWB’s tribute to his mentor.
December 22, 2014 @ 11:01 am
It doesn’t mean Craig Wayne Boyd still can’t make it in music. But if he does, it will be on his own merit, not because he won “The Voice.”
December 22, 2014 @ 5:36 pm
The 100 Grand he won should help.
December 22, 2014 @ 7:40 pm
That’s 10% down on what it takes to make a star in Nashville these days.
December 22, 2014 @ 10:21 am
Of all the previous winners, I think CWB will have the most staying power. Not to give him too much credit but it seems he is bucking the bro-country trend. Too me he will likely become a tolerable and noteworthy mainstream country artist.
December 22, 2014 @ 10:22 am
These shows don’t care anything about the contestants…they simply use them for ratings, and when the show is down, they are on their own…
December 22, 2014 @ 10:29 am
I completely agree with this! I don’t watch the Voice but I do listen to country radio a lot. and I remember, last year, there was a song usually coming on the radio that I liked because it kinda reminded me of the Dixie Chicks. It was Danielle Bradbery’s Heart of Dixie. the song barely missed the top ten and she released a new single, Young in America. when I first heard it I was quite impressed, I tought it was a great single: strong fiddle work, great vocals and sing-along chorus. still it was largely ignored by country radio, it stalled at #49 and after three months fell off the charts. and there really was no reason for it! such a pity, she had a great voice and her music was very good pop country. I’m not sure her label will still care about her…
December 23, 2014 @ 1:02 pm
Thanks, Lorenzo! I’ve been trying to find new female country singers to listen to but it’s all horrible pop songs but this is just what I’m looking for.
December 23, 2014 @ 1:13 pm
what do you think about Maddie and Tae? I think their music is similar to Danielle Bradbery. Sara Evans is the most similar to them but she’s not really ‘new’ 🙂
December 25, 2014 @ 11:47 am
I actually like Maddie and Tae’s music quite a bit. I’m hoping they release a full album soon.
December 28, 2014 @ 2:47 pm
Here’s some female artists you should be listening to: Bri Bagwell, Kylie Rae Harris, Pauline Reese, The Rankin Twins, Haley Cole, to name a few. There’s no shortage of female talent if you look outside of what The Machine is offering you
December 30, 2014 @ 12:04 pm
Thanks! I’ll give them a listen.
December 22, 2014 @ 11:08 am
There are just too many singers that get pumped into the spotlight for very many of them to actually stick. How many of these type of shows are there / have there been? And usually the second and third place get “famous” too ”¦ and they do this EVERY YEAR. That is just entirely too many new “stars” for people to actually care about at this point.
December 22, 2014 @ 11:10 am
With ‘The Voice’ they do it twice a year because it’s one of NBC’s few successful shows, so they double up on seasons.
December 22, 2014 @ 11:47 am
Let me put it this way. The day after Craig Wayne Boyd won, I was listeing to Kix 106 here in Memphis and Memphis Mark made mention of the show, but the only thing he focused on was the fact that Team Blake won. NO mention whatsoever of Craig Wayne Boyd’s name.
December 22, 2014 @ 12:39 pm
Who?
December 22, 2014 @ 1:01 pm
He needs to start going by Craig Boyd or CW Boyd; get rid of the forgettable 3-name curse.
Have listened to a couple of his songs on line. He starts out singing from his soul and then tries to remember that he has to please everyone. If he sticks to the soul singing, he may make it.
He is better than anything in the pop country genre that I avoid with a passion. Or, anything I’ve ever heard on the overdone American Idol game show.
Wish him luck.
December 22, 2014 @ 1:52 pm
What 3-name curse is that? The one that David Allan Coe, Billie Jo Spears, Michael Martin Murphy, Earl Thomas Conley, Wilma Lee Cooper, Jerry Jeff Walker, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and probably a dozen more that don’t come to mind right now have somehow managed to avoid?
December 22, 2014 @ 2:48 pm
So sorry kind sir, I grovel at your feet for forgiveness. You worked very hard at your answer. Seriously, there are many three named people who are successful. I was just thinking that there are so many of them, it seems to be an epidemic these days. Maybe I have a learning disability of some sort because they confuse me sometimes.
Merry Christmas Tom
December 22, 2014 @ 2:02 pm
I think the main reason we see relatively few of the talent show winners make it is that most of the folks who have the drive and dedication to go along with the talent it takes to succeed do so on their own.
Artists performing full-time for a living who are trying to go somewhere are generally booked far enough ahead that they can’t stop what they’re doing to take part in a show without jeopardizing what momentum they’ve built up, so most of the folks on the shows are those who do something else for a living while making music on the side.
And the folks who put their “normal” lives on hold to compete on one of these shows often aren’t interested in making enough concessions to keeping a regular schedule to really pursue a musical career once they’ve one.
Every once in awhile there’s an exception to this rule, hopefully Craig Wayne Boyd is one of them.
December 22, 2014 @ 4:52 pm
I was surprised to learn that the prize for winning is one hundred thousand dollars, and a recording deal.
That is a pretty small sum for a show making so much money for it’s owners, and for the “coaches”.
I had a problem with the likes of multi millionaires Taylor Swift, Blake, Adam and the others hanging out with the contestants, many of whom are obviously not rolling in money.
It’s a bit creepy.
I thought that Craig Wayne got away from good tunes, and ended up doing a lot of old bar
band three chord rock tunes.
I think they were picked by his coach. Too bad. Waste of his ability.
Good luck to Craig Wayne Boyd, he’s a good singer and entertainer.
December 23, 2014 @ 1:00 am
‘I thought that Craig Wayne got away from good tunes, and ended up doing a lot of old bar band three chord rock tunes.’
Exactly ……they molded him right out of shape . I’m not interested in someone more interested in being famous than staying true to their passion and their uniqueness .
December 22, 2014 @ 5:58 pm
CWB has something going for him that Cassadee Pope and Danielle Bradberry didn’t – immediate sales of his lead-out single. He hit #2 on the iTunes all-genres chart in the night after performing that song on the show. Now the challenge will be to keep the momentum of that song going onto radio. He’s out promoting the song on TV. Will radio jump on board? The song is poppy enough to get some play… but I don’t know if the fans will keep it spinning themselves.
If he can get that going, he’ll be ahead of the game. The inclusion of the original song was something new for The Voice this year, and it may have been done in part to help the finalists get moving in their own careers. That’s always been part of the problem…it’s cover after cover after cover, and then the show is over, and there’s a long break before the artist releases his/her first single. By then, folks have moved on.
With this, at least CWB has something out there that’s his, and he has a chance to move on it. I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see him playing on Blake’s tour next year as well. Blake has a good history of doing that with his winners, and CWB would fit in far better with Blake’s existing fan base than any of Blake’s priors.
I’ve had to remind people previously that these reality competitions are just that – competitions. They aren’t “star vehicles.” Trigger, I disagree with your assortment that people watch these shows in order to see them create stars. I don’t think that’s true at all. I think most people watch them purely for the entertainment value. The shows are generally pretty fun to watch – when the talent level is high. there’s good combination of drama and humor and then there’s the performances themselves, which are well produced. As a result, the show continues to get strong ratings.
All the while, they preach the concept that somehow America is deciding the winner … which makes the viewer feel like they’re accomplishing something. Maybe they’re not launching a huge mega-star career, but they’re “TEAMBLAKE” or “TEAMCWB” or whatever, and if that person can win, then they’ll always get to say they were a part of it.
That means something to people – means more than the winner becoming a star. Which is why they won’t necessarily run out to buy that winner’s first album … because they’ll be too busy voting for their favorite contestant on the next season of The Voice.
December 22, 2014 @ 7:42 pm
I understand what you’re saying, and I do think Craig has some advantages over previous contestants. I still want to see/hear it first though. And though “The Voice” doesn’t need to launch a star like American Idol does, I do think it says something if they aren’t able to launch solid music franchise names. Having a bona fide superstar get their start on the show couldn’t hurt.
December 22, 2014 @ 10:33 pm
But again, I think that is a misunderstanding of the purpose of the show. The show wasn’t started as a marketing arm for Universal Music. The show is a TV Show. The purpose of the show is to get ratings, capture viewership, MAKE MONEY. The show makes money hand-over-fist, and now with the way it dominates iTunes in while it’s running, it’s expanded into the music space extremely well. But, it doesn’t NEED to create a star to be viable. It needs to be an entertaining television show. The fact is, it really doesn’t matter if any of the contestants go on to be stars…because while they’re on the show, they’re all big sellers. After the show, sure maybe it speaks to the “legitimacy’ of the “star building” model. But who cares? Do people today tune into American Idol because it launched Carrie Underwood? Doubtful.
December 23, 2014 @ 1:39 am
I think this is the underlying difference between “The Voice” and “American Idol.” Idol IS trying to launch superstars. That’s why the winners get a big record deal and it’s called “American Idol.” This upcoming year, Scott Borchetta is going to be the mentor and sign the winner to Big Machine. “The Voice” might be more about the TV competition, but I still think that if the artists it features resonate after the show is over, it will mean more for the franchise in the long term. If they continue to fall off the face off the earth, they could find the same problems as American Idol is in its later seasons. Who knows, Craig Wayne Boyd may change all of that.
December 22, 2014 @ 7:55 pm
I do think CWB does have the advantage of being identified with a genre that is fairly loyal to it’s featured players. People like Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, and many more are gonna continue to sell records, and CWB’s connection to Blake Shelton, another one of those featured players, will only help him to get that initial exposure that he needs in order to become a mainstay. Now whether or not that results in music of merit is undecided, but I do think he’s going to be the most successful winner of The Voice to date. I could even see Blake Shelton maybe featuring him on one of his own songs at some point soon, a move that would probably be mutually beneficial for the two of them.
December 23, 2014 @ 12:52 am
Perhaps we would be better to view the Voice as what it really is-a weekly network TV series ..a musical drama . This may help in understanding why so few move on afterwards.
The series brings a few names to prominence for the duration of the season . Many weekly programs last a season or even less and the ‘stars’ fade to obscurity afterwards. Many series run several seasons or longer . Either way , once the series has run out its popularity , its off the air along with the cast. Very few successful series can guarantee a career in ‘the biz’ for their casts . Even the biggest stars may get one more shot at another series ….but often not . And even more are literally never heard from again outside of a ” Where Are They Now ” episode .
When you sell your soul to a music ‘series’ , allowing them to exploit your back history , dress you , tell you what to sing and how to sing it , how to cut your hair , who is going to coach you ….and ALL of this is done for the viewing public , it shows an artist not to be strong ,original , single-minded , fresh , creative and ” in control” but in fact the opposite. It shows them as puppets molded to play a role in this weekly series for as long as they are useful to the network ( label ??) . I’m by no means suggesting that these folks aren’t gifted singers but unfortunately the HOME RUN kinda success they are chasing is about so much more than how well they may be able to sing. Broadway has boatloads of gifted support singers, dancers and actors who know this .But the ‘chosen few’ REAL stars bring a mystique which is all but gone by the time these talent shows are done with you . And lets not forget aggressive agents , publicity machines , the right material , a ton of $$$ to market and tour and last but not least a healthy dose of LUCK . The stars have to align for the long term success most of these major acts are pursuing.
By the time the Voice has run its course over a season , I think most of the audience is ready for the next group to amuse them for a few months . Short attention spans , y’ know .
December 23, 2014 @ 7:55 am
The only successful artists to emerge from “The Voice” are Maroon 5 and Blake Shelton. They had some success before, but became huge after working on that show. Of course now they are both overrated and overexposed.
December 23, 2014 @ 9:23 am
Very true. I don’t really watch the show, but I hear a lot about it because I know a lot of people who do watch, and yeah, the people who watch do pick favorite singers for each season and get invested in them, but as soon as the season is over, they’re perfectly content to never hear from them again. And really the main reason they watch the show is for the celebrity judges. Adam Levine and Blake Shelton have gained so much from this show. If you just watch a few episodes of the show, I think it’s clear the show is much more interested in building the brand of its judges than the competitors (which makes sense from a business standpoint, seeing as how the judges are the only consistencies from season to season). Not even saying that it’s a bad thing or that the show is corrupt for being structured that way, but expecting success from the show’s contestants may be futile.
December 23, 2014 @ 1:09 pm
I’ve only seen, I think, the first two seasons, but I don’t think the Voice was ever about finding singers. Maybe they started out that way but I think people only tuned in for the fun rivalry between the judges. The whole turning the chair thing added extra drama that was fun to watch. It’s about the judges winning the competition more than the contestants.
December 23, 2014 @ 6:41 pm
I think this is also why American Idol has been much more successful. People can get caught up cheering for Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood (and there is a long of list of decent success like Daughtry and Jennifer Hudson), and are a good target for their songs/albums/shows. On the voice you feel like you are voting for Team Shakira or whatever.
January 4, 2015 @ 9:29 pm
I almost always enjoy this site. But please. CWB is not Real Country in the least, and is no beacon of hope. None. Due respect, but homages to Mills and Cash do not, of themselves, a real country artist make. The rest of it was Blake Shelton-induced shite from which we all continue to need saving. Do stand back please and take a broader view. Parker Millsap, Sturgill Simpson, Lydia Loveless, The Delines, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings (still)…. These are all people that CAN save country music. Boyd will disappear into the Shelton-shite country radio (if lucky) and will be of no help in the gallant cause of saving country music. Any thoughts to the contrary are whack.
January 4, 2015 @ 10:45 pm
Please point me to the quote where I said Craig Wayne Boyd was “Real Country” or anything even close to that, or alluding to that. I said it was cool how through his participation in “The Voice” it allowed a spotlight to be shined on Wayne Mills and a Johnny Cash song, but my jury is still WAY out on Craig, and NO assumptions should be made about my opinions on him. I have a review of his current single on the way, and maybe that will help shed a little more light, but I fail to see how this article was in any way an endorsement or a puff piece for him. All I am saying here is that winning ‘The Voice’ assures him NOTHING, and he still going to have to go out there and prove his worth in the big scary world. Just because his name appears in a title, doesn’t mean that is rubber stamp approval of him as “Real Country.”
February 22, 2017 @ 7:57 pm
For the past 2 years Jake Worthington has been making his own music and has charted in music row TOP 50
currently he is sitting #14 on the Texas charts just releasing 2 weeks ago Jake has done this on his own without any help from the VOICE or coach. Last year Jake went on tour did 120 shows. you can go to thejakeworthington.com or to his facebook page theofficailjakeworthington. We are very proud Jake has taken his time on the show to reflect what he wanted to do. I have to say Jake is doing much better than most of the winners considering he has done this on his own. Maybe one day the VOICE will take notice of his accomplishments along with major market radio because if your not signed with a major market radio station they don’t play these artist music that they work so hard at. Jake has a huge fan base that he created not what record labels create for the artist. Again just my perspective seeing how I know him best.