Social media is far from an end-all, be-all indicator of success on reality competition series like “The Voice.”
It favors contestants who appeal to younger, more social-savvy and star-crazed demographics. It favors contestants who had been utilizing it as a career marketing tool prior to competing on the show. It, a skill in and of itself, favors contestants who are better at social media without requiring they be the best musical performers.
It also represents a shell of the total viewing audience. While “The Voice” can easily attract over ten million viewers, no contestant has more than 60,000 Twitter followers. And due to the ceaseless presence of fake and/or disengaged followers, it is impossible to know which percentage of any contestant’s social audience will actively vote.
But insofar as it does speak to a contestant’s ability to mobilize fans, it is not totally irrelevant for assessing popularity. And insofar as that popularity will be a factor as the remaining sixteen contestants march towards a spot in the finals, a look at their social followings is not totally worthless.
As of early morning on 5/5, Vedo and Justin Rivers maintain a clear dominance as far as Twitter universe (although it is worth noting that Vedo follows more than 10,000 users, which makes his follower count less impressive), while Judith Hill, Caroline Glaser, Josiah Hawley and Danielle Bradbery occupy the next tier of social popularity.
Here are the rankings as of press time:
- Vedo 57188 (@vedothesinger)
- Justin Rivers 53269 (@justinrivers)
- Judith Hill 32010 (@judith_hill)
- Caroline Glaser 29619 (@carolineglaser)
- Josiah Hawley 22899 (@josiahhawley)
- Danielle Bradbery 21060 (@dbradbery)
- Sarah Simmons 15980 (@SarahSimMusic)
- Garrett Gardner 12280 (@GarrettGardner2)
- Sasha Allen 11317 (@SashaAllenMusic)
- Michelle Chamuel 9827 (@MichelleChamuel)
- Cathia 8338 (@CathiaSings)
- Swon Brothers 7834 (@TheSwonBrothers)
- Kris Thomas 7677 (@KrisThomasMusik)
- Amber Carrington 7524 (@AmberCarrington)
- Karina Iglesias 7314 (@KarinaIglesias_)
- Holly Tucker 7188 (@hollytmusic)
