Taylor John Williams
| Taylor John Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 6, 1991 Eugene, Oregon |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 2009 - present |
| Associated acts | Gwen Stefani |
| Website | http://taylorjohnwilliams.com/ |
Taylor John Williams (June 6, 1991) is an American singer-songwriter best known for his appearance on NBC's reality TV singing competition The Voice Season 7 and finished in the semi-finals taking fifth place.[1]
Early life
Taylor was born in Eugene, Oregon. Taylor is a graduate of the Sheldon High School. After graduating from Sheldon, Williams enrolled at Portland State University before dropping out to pursue his music.[2] He worked at a dog hotel in order to support himself while pursuing music.[3]
Career
Early days
In 2009, he sang the Academy Award-winning song “Falling Slowly” at his Sheldon High School graduation ceremony.[4] That same year, Taylor released an independent EP “Proverbial Elephant" on Grooveshark.[5]
2014: The Voice
In September 2014, it was announced that Williams would compete in Season 7 of NBC's The Voice.[6] In his "Blind Audition," he performed an acoustic cover of Kanye West's "Heartless," which caused Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani to press their "I Want You" buttons and turn their chairs. Williams chose Gwen Stefani as his coach.[7] In the Battle rounds, he defeated fellow Team Gwen member Amanda Lee Peers, dueting Dolly Parton's "Jolene,"[8] and advanced to the Knockout rounds. During the Knockouts, Williams covered "Mad World" by Tears for Fears, in which he defeated his opponent Troy Ritchie and advanced to The Live Playoffs.[9] During the Playoffs, Taylor sang Stealers Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle with You" and was voted through by America.[10] In the following weeks, he covered "If,"[11] "Come Together" by The Beatles,[12] and "Royals" by Lorde,[13] all of which caused him to be voted through by America. During the Semifinals, he covered both "Falling Slowly" by Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová[14] and "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift.[15] Williams was within the bottom 3 in voting and thus was eliminated. However, like eight other eliminated artists, Taylor was given the opportunity to reenter the competition and participate in the finals as the "Wildcard" finalist. In this new Wildcard round, Williams covered "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak.[16] Contestant Damien from Adam Levine's team was selected as the Wildcard finalist, ultimately eliminating Williams from the competition.[17]
- – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes
| Stage | Song | Original Artist | Date | Order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blind Audition | "Heartless" | Kanye West | September 22, 2014 | 1.8 | Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani turned Joined Team Gwen |
| Battle Rounds | "Jolene" (vs. Amanda Lee Peers) | Dolly Parton | October 13, 2014 | 7.5 | Saved by Coach |
| Knockout Rounds | "Mad World" (vs. Troy Ritchie) | Tears for Fears | October 28, 2014 | 12.1 | Saved by Coach |
| Live Playoffs | "Stuck in the Middle with You" | Stealers Wheel | November 11, 2014 | 16.10 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 12 | "If" | Bread | November 17, 2014 | 18.6 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 10 | "Come Together" | The Beatles | November 24, 2014 | 20.9 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 8 | "Royals" | Lorde | December 1, 2014 | 22.7 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 5 (Semifinals) | "Falling Slowly" | Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová | December 8, 2014 | 24.3 | Eliminated |
| "Blank Space" | Taylor Swift | 24.9 | |||
| Wildcard performance | "Wicked Game" | Chris Isaak | December 9, 2014 | 25.5 | Eliminated |
Artistry
Influences
His diverse style is influenced by artists from a wide range of genres such as Glen Hansard, Amos Lee, Jeff Buckley, Jack White, Jay-Z and Bill Withers.[18]
Discography
Studio albums
2015: Song of a Deadman
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | Sales | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | ||||||||
| Proverbial Elephant (EP)[19] |
|
— | — | |||||
| "—" denotes album that did not chart | ||||||||
References
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKzlKEbSYNY YouTube. Retrieved December 20, 2014
- ↑ http://registerguard.com/rg/news/local/32449748-75/eugene-singer-shows-america-that-he-has-the-voice.html.csp# Registered Guard News. Retrieved December 20, 2014
- ↑ http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/channel-surfer/voice-season-7-blind-auditions-recap-gwen-stefani-pharrell-williams-prove-ready-battle-blake-shelton-adam-levine-blog-entry-1.1949234 NY Daily News Blog. Retrieved December 20, 2014
- ↑ "Singing his way to TV stardom". The Register-Guard.
- ↑ http://grooveshark.com/#!/album/Proverbial+Elephant/3547190 Registered Guard News. Retrieved December 20, 2014
- ↑ "Taylor John Williams's Photos - Taylor John Williams - Facebook".
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Blind Audition - Taylor John Williams: "Heartless"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Battle Round - Taylor John Williams vs. Amanda Lee Peers: "Jolene"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Knockouts - Taylor John Williams: "Mad World"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Live Playoffs - Taylor John Williams: "Stuck in the Middle with You"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Top 12 - Taylor John Williams: "If"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Top 10 - Taylor John Williams: "Come Together"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Top 8 - Taylor John Williams: "Royals"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Semifinals - Taylor John Williams: "Falling Slowly"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Semifinals - Taylor John Williams: "Blank Space"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 Wildcard - Taylor John Williams: "Wicked Game"". YouTube.
- ↑ "The Voice 2014 - Damien's Elimination and Wildcard Announcement (Interview)". YouTube.
- ↑ "Taylor John Williams". Facebook.
- ↑ "Grooveshark". Grooveshark.