The Voice 23 Playoffs: Ryley Tate Wilson’s “Party” Isn’t “Over”
Monday night (May 8) The Voice season 23 Playoffs concluded. Since they are taped this season, this episode was coach Blake Shelton’s last taped episode. Team Niall Horan and Team Kelly Clarkson performed, with each coach picking their top 2 artists to advance to the Semifinals. (Read our Recap)
As many have noted, the format of the Playoffs–taped with no viewer voting–has made the season so far quite anticlimactic. However, Night 2 of the Playoffs featured solid performances. One of those performances came from 15-year-old Ryley Tate Wilson who had a breakout moment with Billie Eilish’s “when the party’s over.”
“I can see glimpses of myself in him.”
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Ryley. Niall awarded him the Battle round Playoffs Pass, which allowed him to skip the Knockout round. The young singer notes he needs to bring his “A game” since he didn’t get a knockout. Ryley’s favorite artist is Billie and Niall brings up similarities in his style to Billie. Ryley explains that the song is about “feeling lonely” and how he relates, since his siblings are into sports, while he enjoyed music. Nevertheless, his family are still very supportive. Niall suggests that Ryley “keep that first verse tight and soft” and notes the emotional impact of his voice, saying “when you soar, you crack.” Niall sees a budding popstar and says, “I can see glimpses of myself in him.”
Ryley starts off, showing off skill in his lower range. His phrasing is masterful, and when he sings using his mixed voice, it’s his money spot. There are folky parts of his voice that remind me of Noah Mac, one of the better indie singers to grace The Voice stage. Ryley’s voice is especially effective when it breaks and he projects, extending the notes out with purposeful runs. The emotions when he does that are beyond his years. Although his audition was good, this was by far his most complete performance. It showcased that his tone is special, and that there are many colors to it.
“You know you’ve got to put Ryley through”
Chance The Rapper says, “you surprise me every week,” adding, “that was the greatest show of control of all the performances.” He says that Ryley deserves to advance. Kelly Clarkson admits that she’s “very scared” of the singer, and she calls his big notes the “perfect amount of drama.” Blake says, “you know you’ve got to put Ryley through” and advises Niall not to mess around. Niall notes his age, and says, “Ryley’s mature beyond his years and puts together performances of someone who’s been doing it 20 years.”
At the end of the show, Ryley advanced to the Semifinals along with Gina Miles as part of Team Niall, and Team Kelly’s final two consisted of D. Smooth and Holly Brand. Both coaches seemed to approach the round in a similar way, picking the strongest performances of the night rather than going off body of work especially when it came to Kelly’s choices.
Ryley one of many great young artists to come from The Voice
Ryley’s breakout moment reminded me of the great youngsters we’ve seen on the show over the years (Danielle Bradbury, Carter Rubin, Chevel Shepherd, Brynn Cartelli, Carter Rubin, and Hailey Mia). Ryley fits in with this uber-talented group of young singers that either won or were finalists, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see Ryley make it to the finale or even upset Team Blake in his last season and take home the championship for Niall.
The other singers that wowed me tonight were Team Kelly’s Holly Brand whose technique is one of the best we’ve seen for a country singer, and Team Niall’s Gina Miles who has a gorgeous indie tone and continues to become more confident. Team Niall appears to have the strongest team remaining as both Gina and Ryley are great! Maybe, he could pull an upset and his team could beat both Team Blake (NOIVAS and Grace West are strong contenders) and Team Kelly’s potential finalist in Holly.
