Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Wilkes performs Don’t Speak during the live playoffs on The Voice Season 14. (NBC Photo)

And why not? He imaginative cover of “Don’t Speak” was the night’s most viewed Team Blake Shelton performance on iTunes. It drew high praise from the judges.

Heck, Wilkes’ mic even slipped in its stand, dropping a couple feet near the end of the performance.

And Wilkes never missed a beat.

Now that his time on the show is over, Wilkes still doesn’t plan to miss a beat. He’s promising fans new original music very soon.

Here’s what Wilkes told Voice Views about his time on the show and the original music he plans to release.

Voice Views: What’s next for you as an artist? And do you envision releasing new music soon? If so, can you tell me about that? Either what you have planned or what you’d like to do? And what sound fans can expect?

Wilkes: What’s next for me is to get out new music as soon as humanly possible. I’ve had songs stocked piling for a couple of years now and feel really good about all of them. I will choose a handful that I feel resonate with the current moment and get them out immediately.

What people saw from me on the show is like a reflection of what I actually am as an artist. I love singing great songs that were written by other people, but I’m not 100 percent “me” unless I’m singing lyrics I penned myself. I’m excited about The Voice community getting an opportunity to see the 100 percent real me.

Voice Views: How do you think your career — and any music you release in the future — will be affected by The Voice experience? If so, how?

Wilkes: There is a much larger audience now that is waiting on music from me. They are also much more vocal about it. I can feel their excitement and genuine enthusiasm and that is super encouraging. The platform The Voice provides is one that can’t be found anywhere else in the industry and I’m extremely grateful for it.

I hope people were able to get a glimpse into who I am not only artistically but personally as well. I know I’m not the “typical” personality type that comes across these shows and I hope that people were able to understand me a little better from my time on The Voice.

Voice Views: During the playoffs, we didn’t get to hear about the thought process behind the song choices. Can you explain yours a bit? And how do you think those performances went for you?

Wilkes: Throughout the entire show my goal song wise was to show different sides of myself and “take it up a notch” every round. The most important thing to me is always the lyric. There are some things I simply won’t sing lyric wise. Connecting with the lyric for me is more important than the vocal performance itself in my opinion. If no one can feel what you’re saying… what’s the point?

The live round songs were to closest I ever got to “me” on the show. “Brother” is an incredibly written song both lyrically and musically. I try to live my life to serve other people as best as I can and that song reflects that sentiment. It’s about always being there for someone when they need you. One of my main goals in life is to be present and aware of other people’s circumstances and offer myself as support, help or encouragement in any way possible. I strive to live the lyrics of that song.

“Don’t Speak” carries so much heavy emotion in its lyrics. I hadn’t fully explored that side of myself on the show until that song even though it’s a huge part of me as an artist. The goal with that song was to move people in some way emotionally. I wanted people to “feel” something from it. It also presented a great opportunity for me to put my own spin on the song.

I don’t like to “flip” just any song … some songs just shouldn’t be messed with. Even though this song sits on the edge of that, I saw an opportunity to present it in a way that has more emphasis on the power of the lyric. Being able to come up with my own arrangement, record parts in my own studio, and have the band learn them (play along to some of my recordings as live tracks on live TV) was a complete honor. Even though I had much more of that planned for the future of the show, I’m super glad I had the opportunity to end on a “WILKES version” of a song.

I was happy with both performances. I feel like I accomplished my goals for each of them. I’m even grateful for the mic incident during “Don’t Speak.” It happened at the perfect time and created the perfect moment for me to go out on. Sometimes a faulty mic stand can be your friend :).

Voice Views: What was your favorite performance from the show and why?

Wilkes: My favorite performance would have do be “Don’t Speak” mainly because I was able to 100 percent be myself in it. In my other songs, I somewhat stepped into others people’s shoes at least a little but I felt most in my element for that performance.

Singing along to my own arrangement and instrumentation played a big part in that. That performance really gave me the opportunity to show myself more as an artist instead of just a singer.

Voice Views: That was a new playoff format this season. What did you think of it and would you recommend any changes for future seasons?

Wilkes: I personally love the format. The first night of all 24 performances was a rush and I think is a great experience for any singer to have to go through. The amount of nerves and pressure that comes with that fast of a pace is something you’ll never forget and can carry into a long-lasting career as a stepping stone moment. If the show could broadcast live all across the U.S. without the delay to the West Coast, it’d be the perfect format.

Voice Views: Is there anything else you’d like to add about The Voice experience?

Wilkes: Everything about my experience on The Voice was fantastic. Seriously everything. Every contestant, every staff person, every studio engineer, etc. are all incredible people and it was an honor to work with them. The platform The Voice provides in undeniable and I’m incredibly thankful that I got to be a part of it.

I’ve made lifelong relationships and increased my fan base significantly. I don’t have a single complaint at all. And you better bet I will be capitalizing on the exposure immediately. You haven’t seen the last of me. We’re just getting started.

Editor’s Note: Jason Wilkes, from Waleska, Ga., was 34 when he auditioned for The Voice with “One Headlight” and earned a spot on Team Blake. For more on his pre-Voice music — there’s quite a bit of it — head here. Wilkes’ social media links follow.

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Twitter: @WILKESmusic
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