The dream for Georgia Southern graduate Bryce Leatherwood is still alive.
The country singer was voted through to the finals of The Voice Tuesday and will compete to be named season champion as part of Coach Blake Shelton’s team in shows next Monday and Tuesday – Dec. 12 and 13.
During Monday night’s show, Leatherwood offered his version of fellow country artist Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” that earned high praise from Shelton.
“You just engaged the army of country music fans who watch this show,” Shelton said. “That is the kind of performance, and you’re the kind of guy they want to represent them in this genre. That was killer!”
Fellow coach John Legend also was impressed by Leatherwood’s performance.
“I always thought you could be on the radio,” Legend said. “But I think this has been your best performance so far. Your tone was bold, glorious and soulful. I really loved it.”
In addition to Leatherwood, Shelton will have two other singers in next week’s finals – Brayden Lape and indie singer-songwriter bodie.
Morgan Myles from Coach Camila Cabello’s team and Omar Jose Cardona from Legend’s team round out the five who will be part of the finals.
The Voice finals will be Monday and Tuesday night at 8 p.m. on NBC. To vote, go to nbc.com/VoiceVote and register or download The Voice app on your phone.
“I am pinching myself every day out here as it is just tough to believe how far I’ve come so fast,” Leatherwood told the Statesboro Herald last week. “It has been a once in a lifetime experience and it is just a complete whirlwind and the greatest experience of my life.”
He came to Statesboro and Georgia Southern from Woodstock, just north of Atlanta. Music always was his passion and he played throughout his college days, performing as a solo artist, before putting his band together in November 2021.
Leatherwood graduated from Georgia Southern in May. Staying in Statesboro, he was playing shows in the South Georgia area when he decided to audition for The Voice.
While being applauded and praised by the likes of Shelton, Legend, Cabello and Gwen Stefani, Leatherwood said he has made it a point to try and stay grounded and remember where he comes from.
“It has definitely already changed my life in many ways, but in others I think I have remained the same,” he said. “My social media took off as I went from a little over 1,000 followers to over 23,000. I’ve had guys I admire like Travis Tritt reach out to me. I’ve met people like Channing Tatum and Tim Allen but I think I’ve stayed grounded. I’ve really gotten to know the cast members on The Voice and especially the ones on ‘Team Blake.’ They have become like a second family for me out here and we have all become tight.”