Which 'The Voice' contestants made it big without winning?

Music shows are often criticized: participants appear on screen, only to vanish without a trace after the finale. Is «The Voice» stage just a fleeting chance, after which you can«t build a career? Far from it—not all the project»s heroes got just one minute of fame: among them are those who continued working after the cameras stopped rolling and ultimately achieved success.

Regina Todorenko

Only devoted fans of the TV host remember that Todorenko started her journey as a singer. After participating in the Ukrainian «Star Factory» (16+) and «The X Factor» (16+), she sang for several years in the girl group Real O.

“There were four vocalists, we sang together about love, dresses, shoes, and bags,” recalls Todorenko. “We toured for five years, and let me tell you, it wasn«t easy. Working in any female collective is hard: either everyone»s critical days would coincide, or someone bought the wrong tights, or someone didn«t like a dress, or suddenly someone was in a bad mood—which meant everyone had to be in a bad mood, let»s fight. And we did fight, sometimes.”

When Todorenko grew tired of performing in a group, she moved to «The Voice» show to establish herself as a solo performer. The blind auditions didn«t go entirely smoothly: of the four experts, only Polina Gagarina turned her chair for Regina.

Todorenko lasted on the show until the knockout stage, where contestants are divided into groups of three and judges keep only one. After being eliminated, Regina admitted she had planned to leave the project anyway. She feels more at home performing her own songs, not other people«s.

“Let the professional musicians who graduated from conservatories and jazz-pop colleges go further, and I«ll sing my own material. I perform my own songs much better,” Todorenko commented on her departure.

Regina sang her own songs for a short time. After «The Voice», her momentum only lasted for one album, and she switched to the show «Heads or Tails» (12+). For four years, she traveled the world, talking about culture and life in other countries. But she got bored with that too.

“I understand many consider my career a dream—you travel the world at someone else«s expense, see exotic places, and comment on what»s happening. But everything has its limit. According to scientists, you should change your field of activity every four years,” stated Todorenko.

Regina didn«t think long about what else she wanted to do—the choice fell on acting. She didn»t deny that she wouldn«t mind not building a career anymore, but rather realizing herself as a wife and mother. And that»s what happened: while acting in a play, she met musician Vlad Topalov, who soon became her husband.

“It all started with a play. We played a bride and groom. It was the same picture that happened in real life. We visualized it, a fateful play,” Todorenko later recalled about meeting her future husband.

In 2018, the host got married, and a year later she had a son. On maternity leave, Todorenko realized she missed the days when she traveled the world, and she returned to television. Regina launched several travel programs and also started hosting shows about motherhood. Her musical past is now only reminded by her judging on the show «The Mask» (16+).

Anton Tokarev

A rare, if not the only, case where fame came to a singer not after, but during the show. At the blind auditions, musician Anton Tokarev didn«t stand out among his competitors, and only two experts turned for him: Polina Gagarina and Sergey Shnurov. Anton joined the latter»s team and didn«t miscalculate.

During the knockout stage, it turned out that Tokarev lacked a suitable song to shine. Together with Shnurov, he prepared a cover of the song «The Seventh Petal». And that cover, thanks to its rock motifs, for some even surpassed the original.

“The cover is a billion times better than the original. I never listened to this song by the group Hi-Fi, I just didn«t like it, in my opinion—ordinary pop. But how Anton sang it—in a rock style, it»s something new and just gorgeous,” the show«s viewers praised the performer.

Shnurov himself played no small role in Tokarev«s popularity, doing everything he could to help him on the project and being very upset when Anton took second place in the final. Sergey joked that he regretted his protégé couldn»t buy a victory, as Alsou once did for her daughter on «The Voice. Kids» (0+).

“I would have rigged the scores, but they didn«t let me, no salvation. My student is a fine fellow. It»s a pity he«s not Alsou»s son,” said the lead singer of the band «Leningrad».

Second place didn«t upset Anton at all. After the show, he bought the rights to the song »The Seventh Petal« and released a full-fledged cover.

“It«s all like some Disney movie! For so many years I dreamed that someday I would be perceived as a serious artist, musician. So much effort, pain, panic attacks. And here it happened,” Anton couldn»t believe it.

The song immediately hit the charts and stayed there for a long time. Simultaneously, Anton opened his own studio and continued writing songs: he released a collaboration with Vladimir Presnyakov and also recorded a track for the series «Life on Call» (18+).

Oleg Miami

Miami, whose real surname is Krivikov, first appeared on television in the early 2010s on the show «Dom-2» (16+). No matter how Oleg tried to become one of the crowd on the TV construction site—gossiping, causing scandals, and having romances—it was all pointless, and he lasted on the project for only eight months.

After the project, Miami was noticed by producer Maxim Fadeev. Since Oleg had been involved in music since childhood and didn«t really want to return to ordinary life in his hometown, he signed a contract with Fadeev and turned to singing.

The young charismatic guy was liked by viewers, but few took him seriously as an artist after participating in the TV construction site. So in 2015, he went to «The Voice» to find his audience.

“I«ve been collaborating with Maxim Fadeev for two years now: music is no longer a hobby for me, it has become my profession. And »The Voice« is a serious enough platform where you can gain experience and really prove yourself,” declared Miami.

During the blind auditions, three of the four experts turned for him: Basta, Grigory Leps, and Polina Gagarina.

“I«ll just call you handsome,” was Gagarina»s first comment when she saw Miami.

Oleg strived to be valued for his talent, not his looks. Therefore, he joined Leps«s team and participated in the show until the quarterfinals. The aspiring musician was right: after the show, he was indeed noticed more often and invited to concerts. However, a new problem arose. Miami was unhappy with the terms of his contract with Fadeev, and the producer stopped organizing his performances, despite demand. As a result, Oleg was left without work and new songs for two years.

In 2019, Miami made peace and asked Fadeev for forgiveness. The hatchet was buried, and the producer transferred the rights to all his songs to Oleg.

“The company doesn«t need anything, it always lets artists earn. So I wish Oleg Miami luck in the future, that»s all, really,” Fadeev said goodbye to his former protégé.

Real fame came to Miami after 2020, when he suggested his fellow countrymen Niletto and Lesha Svik record joint tracks—«Don»t Remember« and »Louder Than the City«.

“The idea for a collaboration came to me. I saw Danya, and a song immediately came to mind, and then we invited Lesha,” Miami recounted.

Anton Belyaev

Belyaev was born in Magadan, where he founded his jazz group Therr Maitz. Chasing a better life, he moved to Moscow with the group, but at first things didn«t go well. Few concerts, little money. Everything changed when he came to the second season of »The Voice«.

“Before «The Voice», the maximum we had was about ten concerts a month. My wife would call journalist friends asking: «Would you like to interview Anton?» and get responses: «Why?» After the first broadcast on «The Voice», I got a call and was asked to give a concert the next evening,” shared Belyaev.

During the blind auditions, all the experts turned for Belyaev. He went to Agutin«s team, but at the battle stage, the singer eliminated him, and Anton moved to Pelageya. He still didn»t manage to win, but he achieved his main goal—he became popular.

After the project ended, Belyaev didn«t change his principles. He didn»t start a solo career, staying with his group. Besides releasing his own songs, Belyaev launched his own project, Lab. Since 2019, he has invited various stars to his studio and suggested they sing favorite songs, but with a new arrangement, together with a choir and orchestra. The program became so popular that Belyaev created a separate show based on it, with which he tours across Russia annually.

“My profession is making music. I«m not a great singer, a famous rapper, or an opera diva. I just work on music production,” Belyaev says modestly about himself.

In 2025, the most striking experiment was a cover of the song «Shiroka Reka» (The River is Wide) performed by Dmitry Zhuravlev.

Belyaev returned to «The Voice» twice as a mentor. However, he never managed to become the best and lead a member of his team to victory.

Yaroslav Dronov (SHAMAN)

Yaroslav Dronov got on television through the program «Factor A» (16+). The star judges, including Igor Nikolaev, Lolita, and Alla Pugacheva, highly praised his performance and advised him to keep singing.

“How much more will you have to prove yourself, Yaroslav. I wish you strength not only to win but also to lose. It will be hard because you are an extraordinary personality,” the prima donna commented on his performance.

Charged with motivation, Yaroslav moved to the next competition—«The Voice». Here he won over Pelageya and Dima Bilan and lasted until the semifinal, losing the victory to Alexandra Vorobyova. After the loss, Yaroslav didn«t speak very favorably of the projects where he had once been so praised and prophesied a great future.

“I«ll be honest, I never liked the very concept of television projects. There»s something fake, unnatural, and cynical about them. The people who participate there of their own free will are not to blame for anything: they don«t know all this and come with open hearts and the hope of being noticed. However, in the end, they turn out to be needed by no one and serve as little cogs in a huge mechanism,” Dronov harshly criticized the project.

However, Dronov himself didn«t want to be an ordinary »cog«. For several years, he sang as part of the band »Chas Pik« (Rush Hour), but in 2019 he took the pseudonym SHAMAN, grew dreadlocks, and started a solo career.

In 2022, Dronov stated he wouldn«t set foot in competitions anymore, unless he was offered a spot as a mentor and jury member.

“I think I«ve outgrown contestant pants, it»s time to be a mentor myself. And I«ve had enough competitions in my life,” Dronov brushed off.

But not all music competitions fell out of Yaroslav«s favor. In 2025, he represented Russia at »Intervision«. However, immediately after his performance, he asked to be withdrawn, citing that the host country shouldn»t compete. After such an act, the singer was «hated on» not only by fans but also by colleagues.

“Why did you have to mess with your own and other people«s heads if you didn»t plan to win? If he had left before the competition and given his spot to a young artist who needs that stage, everyone would have understood, and he could have appeared as a guest,” fumed Iosif Prigozhin.