Kaufman was born in Sarasota, Florida, the son of Beth Gilbert, minister of music at a church in Blacksburg, Virginia. And Mark Kaufman, who runs a roofing company. He grew up in Lake Wales, Florida until his freshman year of high school.
He and his mother moved to Blacksburg, Virginia where he attended and graduated from Blacksburg High School.
He attended Anderson University and graduated from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
His musical talent appeared early in his life. At sixteen, he appeared on Star Search and in 2011, Kaufman auditioned for the first season of Simon Cowell"s The X Factor (United States). The band was formed in 2010 with original band members Josh Kaufman, Ryan Koch, and Nate Gray.
The band released a six track self-titled European Parliament in spring 2012 drawing on the musical talents of several local musicians.
From 2011-2014 Kaufman was a musical staple at Potbelly Sandwich Shop in Indianapolis, and also worked as an SAT prep tutor. The Voice On the fifth episode of the Blind Auditions broadcast on March 10, 2014, he performed George Michael"s song "One More Try." All four judges turned their chairs and Kaufman chose to join team Adam.
Kaufman defeated fellow Team Adam member Austin Ellis in the Battles, Round 1. Kaufman lost his second battle round competition against Delvin Choice but was immediately stolen by Team Usher.
Kaufman received the first iTunes bonus multiplier of the season, with his studio recording of "Stay With Maine" reaching the fifth position on the iTunes Top 200 chart at the close of the voting window.
Later career Kaufman participated in the Industry Jazz Fest in September 2014. Kaufman appeared at the Indiana State Fair in August 2014. He was the final actor to play the title role in the 2013 Broadway revival of Pippin, which closed in early 2015.
On May 20, 2014, Kaufman was announced as the winner of Season 6 of The Voice, beating out runners-up Jake Worthington and Christina Grimmie and making him not only the first artist from Team Usher to win, but the first "stolen" artist to win and the first Caucasian male winner, besides also being the oldest participant to win the competition. - Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes.
He is best known for winning the sixth of National Broadcasting Company"s The Voice as a member of Usher"s team and previously Adam Levine"s team While in Blacksburg, he was a member of the Blacksburg High School Madrigals, an elite choir. Kaufman is a member of the band The New Etiquette (formerly known as Josh Kaufman and the Frequency), an Indianapolis based rock and soul band.
