When I heard the buttery twang that encapsulates Bryce Leatherwood, I knew exactly why he won Season 22 of NBC’s The Voice. Even before he sang a word, you knew he had it.
Bryce Leatherwood is a 23-year-old singer/songwriter who aims to carry the torch of the country music he grew up with. He was born and raised in Woodstock, Georgia, and spent every summer working on his grandpa’s farm and listening to his grandpa’s music.
“It pretty much painted the majority of my childhood being with him and spending the summers on his horse ranch and just having a great time down there,” Leatherwood recalled.
Traditional Country music like the songs from George Jones, Merle Haggard, and Conway Twitty became the soundtrack of his youth.
And while he toyed with the guitar in high school, sports was his main passion. He was a hard-nosed wrestler and athlete.
Leatherwood’s music career blossomed in Statesboro, Georgia, where he attended Georgia Southern University. During his time in Statesboro, Leatherwood played college venues and continued to grow his stage presence and his country music repertoire. At Georgia Southern, he formed his band in late 2021 and began playing all around the Southeast.
It was during COVID when he was about to graduate from college that he saw a post to audition for The Voice. Since they weren’t doing live tryouts, they requested that you send in a video.
The singer stated, “I sent it off and actually forgot about it until I got a phone call to come out to L.A.”
In 2022, he entered the twenty-second season of The Voice, auditioning with "Goodbye Time" by Conway Twitty, based on Blake Shelton's 2004 cover of the song. Three of the four coaches, John Legend, Gwen Stefani, and Shelton turned their chairs for him, with Leatherwood choosing to become a member of Team Blake.
I thought it was brave for the Georgia boy to sing a Conway Twitty song that Blake Shelton made famous in the blind auditions, but for Leatherwood, it was a no-brainer.
Leatherwood explained, “I have known that song since I was two years old and I have always thought Conway Twitty was one of the most phenomenal singers of all time, so it was like a kill two birds with one stone, kind of thing.”
He continued, “Blake was the obvious choice for me. It was a great decision to go with him. Blake taught me to be myself, just be the artist I want to be.”
He also covered Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” Zac Brown Band’s “Colder Weather,” and Justin Moore’s “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” an artist who sounds so much like Leatherwood.
The Voice finale was December 13, 2022, and in January 2023 Leatherwood moved to Nashville where he dove into songwriting.
“I did a lot of basic songwriting back in college, but nothing crazy. As I moved to Nashville, I have grown as a songwriter and have more input. I get to ‘go to therapy’ every day and put my passion on paper and just have fun and get to write any song I want to write. Getting to work with Sony Music Publishing, which I am signed with as a songwriter, and getting to write with some of my hero songwriters. It's been it's been incredible,” he shared.
Since winning The Voice, Leatherwood has played at his coach Blake Shelton's bar chain, Ole Red, on multiple occasions. He has traveled to Tishomingo, Oklahoma; Orlando, Florida; and Gatlinburg, Tennessee to play at many of Ole Red's locations. In October of 2023, he signed with Republic Records and Universal Music Group.
The first song Leatherwood put out post Voice was “The Finger.” The song is about NOT getting the girl. With lyrics, like “He got the gold mind, I got the shaft,” and “She got the ring, I got the finger,” you hear the traditional country sound with fresh lyrics.
Now he has released “Neon Does” a song that he helped co-write. On the inspiration for the song, Leatherwood recalled, “The write happened pretty quickly. I wanted to write something fun and upbeat that people would love to dance to. Someone threw out the line ‘Neon Does’ and it immediately sparked thoughts of Brooks and Dunn’s ‘Neon Moon’ and Chris Young's ‘Neon.’ Once that idea was shared, the song just came out...I think we had it written in less than 90 minutes.”
Leatherwood confirmed he has written many other songs and is recording new music. He plans to release an album later this year or early next year. But for now, he is headlining his Neon Does Tour where fans can get a glimpse of his “larger than life” persona firsthand.
Whether it’s covers or original tunes, I could listen to the country crooner sing all day long. His voice is strong and soothing and sounds like what I think country music should be. Bryce Leatherwood is your man if you prefer the more traditional side of country music. I predict that he will be around for many years to come, especially when he brings his new tunes along.
You can follow Bryce Leatherwood on his website, Facebook, X(Twitter), TikTok, YouTube, and all music streaming platforms.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and X(Twitter).
