‘That was fire.’ Alabama teen’s blind audition gets 4-chair turn on ‘The Voice’
When 15-year-old Ryley Tate Wilson softly sang, “Somebody said you got a new friend,” Kelly Clarkson and Niall Horan immediately hit their buttons, prompting their chairs to turn after seven words and five seconds.
Blake Shelton and Chance The Rapper quickly followed, securing a four-chair turn for the boy performing his own rendition of “Dancing On My Own,” a popular break-up song from pop star Robyn.
Wilson is from Montgomery, Alabama. The capital city is about three hours from Biloxi and an hour-and-a-half from Columbus, Georgia.
Wilson’s jaw dropped at the end of his blind audition on “The Voice,” NBC’s hit reality TV singing competition.
“I think he’s shocked,” host Carson Daly told his family backstage as the four coaches prepared to pitch their case to Wilson.
“That was the best audition we’ve seen here by a long shot,” new “Voice” coach Niall Horan said.
Horan reminded Wilson he was in a similar situation in 2010, when he auditioned solo for the British “X Factor” competition. Horan would be grouped with Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik to form One Direction.
“I was shaking like a leaf,” the “Slow Hands” singer said of his “X Factor audition before turning his attention to Wilson’s voice.
“I feel like if I was to get you to sing that song again, you wouldn’t sing it the same way twice,” Horan told Wilson. “And that is an amazing way to keep people on their toes.”
Clarkson, who pointed out she was the first to turn, complemented Wilson’s tone.
“It’s incredible. Your voice is insane,” she said.
Chance said Wilson’s talent was individual and unique.
“That was fire,” he told the teen. “What really caught me was in the ending where you kind of just improvised with the runs and really just felt the song out. I love how controlled the runs are.”
Shelton jokingly promised Wilson he’d “quit coaching” after this season if he were to choose the country star. Shelton previously announced he’s leaving “The Voice” after 23 seasons.
So who will Wilson pick as his coach? Tune into “The Voice” on NBC Tuesday night at 8 p.m. CST.
Second AL man moves to next round on ‘The Voice’
Wilson wasn’t the only performer from Montgomery to audition for “The Voice.”
Clarkson and Horan turned their chairs for Jerome Godwin III after he sang a soulful rendition of “pov” by Ariana Grande.
“Your runs were so cool,” Clarkson told him.
But in the end, Godwin chose Horan to be his coach.
“That low stuff (vocal tone) is amazing,” Horan said.
This story was originally published March 14, 2023 at 11:40 AM.
