Jordan Smith is ready to claim another singing competition title.
The season nine winner of The Voice has advanced to the semi-finals of NBC's American Song Contest with his original song "Sparrow." The Kentucky native chatted with E! News in an exclusive backstage interview after his March 28 performance, dishing about what makes the new series different from others like it.
No longer having to "sing for his life" every week like he did on The Voice, he's enjoying getting to represent his home state and the people who supported him over the years.
"I get to use this as an opportunity to share that spotlight and put it on those people that mean so much to me," he said.
Writing what he hopes is "the best song in the country" was an exciting and daunting feat, but Jordan says the show's producers were there to help each contestant have "an equal shot at showing off what is so special about where they're from."
Among the show's competitors are well-known artists such as Michael Bolton and Macy Gray, the latter of which Jordan faced off with on the recent episode. With up-and-comers going up against established artists, Jordan states it only adds to the dynamic of the show.
"I think it just proves that we're all proud of where we're from and we all owe who we are to so many different people, so many different places in our lives," he said. "I think it's really cool that those people have also come to be a part of that and expressing that."
With multiple studio albums under his belt, he's vying for the chance to collab with some of music's biggest names. But, his dream celebrity collaboration partner might now be who you'd expect.
"My dream collab would be Julie Andrews, 100 percent. I say it a lot, but that's like my number one dream," he shared.
Tune in American Song Contest Mondays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family)