Meet Ryan Sill of Team Gwen on The Voice

The Voice

October 11, 2014 By Mark Franklin 0

His audition: Ryan Sill, 20, of Sterling, Va., auditioned with OneRepublic’s “Secrets.” He immediately displayed a really nice tone, prompting Gwen Stefani to turn around in a heartbeat. When Ryan hit the chorus, Blake Shelton turned around as well. Gwen said she could tell Ryan’s tone was special as soon as he started singing and was impressed by the range he displayed. Ryan opted to join Team Gwen.

His background: In his pre-audition interview, Ryan told us he grew up around music. His mom was an opera singer and gave vocal lessons in his home. Both of his sisters also sing. But Ryan did not get private lessons from his mom, Linda. Says Linda, smiling: “My daughter is an opera singer. I tried teaching her. It always ended up as a fight, so we don’t do that.” Though he had performed in choirs, Ryan went to James Madison University to study engineering. But he also joined an a cappella group that got more than 800,000 views on YouTube for its cover of “Titanium.” That convinced Ryan engineering wasn’t his first love; music is. Hence, The Voice. Ryan says he’s always performed in choirs and groups and that this marks his first venture as a solo artist.

What the show didn’t show: The a cappella group Ryan performed with at James Madison is called Exit 245, and that cover of “Titanium” did more than become popular on YouTube. It was released as the lead track on an Exit 245 album called “Boyfriend Material.” And the performance earned Ryan a nomination as best male solo in the 2013 Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards; he wound up finishing as runnerup. He might not have taken private lessons from his mom, but in his Voice video interview, he admits “subconsciously, I picked up her training and lessons.” While taking a year off school to pursue music, he’s also working full time as a loader at Lowe’s Home Improvement. Musically, he’s also performed as a duo with a friend, James Allen — Ryan sings; James provides the instrumentals. Ryan says his audition song was selected because “it had a lot of chair-turning moments, and Gwen turned her chair before I even hit one of those. When that happened, I freaked out on the inside. From that point on, I couldn’t focus on the singing.” He decided to join Team Gwen partly because she performs the same type of music he does — soulful pop. Plus, he says he’s impressed with “the really great career” she has enjoyed. He also said he’s looking to The Voice as a chance to gain exposure, noting he just decided in the last year and a half that “singing is what I wanted to do with my life. So I really haven’t gained a following yet.”

Update:
Blind audition: He performed OneRepublic’s “Secrets” and enticed two judges to turn their chairs.
Battle round: He defeated Jessie Pitts; they sang “I Need Your Love” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding. Jessie was stolen by Blake Shelton.
Knockout round: He defeated Beth Spangler with a performance of Ne-Yo’s “Miss Independent.”
Live playoffs: He sang OneRepublic’s “I Lived.” The song hit number 181 on the iTunes pop chart and number 70 on the site’s pop chart. Ryan was Gwen Stefani’s choice to advance to the finals.
Top 12: He sang Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World.” The song landed at number 120 on the iTunes singles chart and number 56 on the pop chart. Ryan found himself in the bottom three on results night. He sang “More Than Words” for his save-me song and received the instant save to advance to the Top 10.
Top 10: He sang “Starlight” by Muse. The song landed at number 174 on the overall iTunes chart and number 17 on the alternative chart. Ryan landed in the bottom three in voting, but received the instant save for the second straight week after signing “Collide.”
Top 8: He sang “Open Arms” by Journey. The song his number one on the iTunes rock chart and number 52 on the site’s singles chart. But Ryan still found himself in the bottom four on elimination night. He sang “Heaven” for the instant save, but it went to Chris Jamison instead.
Wild Card: He sang “Marry Me.” The song landed at 128 on the iTunes singles chart. The wild card spot went to Damien.