Evan James made one of the most memorable late entrances of The Voice Season 30 when his performance of Morgan Wallen’s “Wasted on You” earned him three chair turns.
Kelly Clarkson, Riley Green and Adam Levine all wanted the 22-year-old Michigan singer, but Evan surprised the room by choosing Adam instead of country star Riley.
His Blind Audition introduced viewers to his soulful country voice, but there is much more to Evan’s story than that one performance.
Here are five things to know about the Team Adam singer.
1. HE GREW UP ON A CHRISTMAS TREE FARM THAT HAS BEEN IN HIS FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS
Evan is from Highland, Michigan, where his family operates a Christmas tree farm that has been in the family for 177 years.
He has described growing up there as something that can feel almost like living inside a holiday movie, with the family planting trees in the spring, maintaining them through the year and welcoming customers during the Christmas season.
That unusual upbringing means the singer now competing on one of television’s biggest stages spent much of his childhood surrounded by Christmas trees, seasonal traditions and generations of family history.
2. MORGAN WALLEN IS MORE THAN JUST THE ARTIST WHOSE SONG HE SANG
Evan chose Morgan Wallen’s “Wasted on You” for his Blind Audition because Wallen has been a major musical inspiration for him.
The connection is particularly interesting because Wallen was once a contestant on The Voice himself.
Morgan competed on Season 6 in 2014, initially joining Team Usher before later being stolen by Adam Levine.
Years later, Evan walked onto the same show singing one of Wallen’s biggest hits — and ultimately chose the same coach Morgan once had: Adam Levine.
For Evan, Wallen’s journey is proof that The Voice can be one part of a much larger career story.
3. HIS MUSICAL BACKGROUND GOES FAR BEYOND COUNTRY BARS
Although viewers met Evan as a country singer, music has been part of his life in several different ways.
He has experience performing in musical theater, took part in competitive high-school choir, played locally around his hometown and has also performed with his church worship band.
Those different environments helped him develop a style that doesn’t fit completely inside traditional country music.
That became obvious during “Wasted on You.”
Kelly Clarkson praised Evan for changing the familiar Morgan Wallen song enough to make it feel like his own, hearing both country and an R&B influence in his delivery. She also heard qualities that reminded her of Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox.
4. HE IS ALSO A COLLEGE STUDENT
Music isn’t the only thing occupying Evan’s time.
He has also been studying public relations at Michigan State University, meaning his Voice journey comes while he is balancing music with college.
That makes his Blind Audition an especially important opportunity.
Instead of already having an established full-time music career, Evan arrived on the show at a stage when he is still deciding exactly how large a role music can play in his future.
The three-chair turn suddenly gave him a much bigger platform to find out.
5. HIS SURPRISING TEAM ADAM DECISION WAS ACTUALLY STRATEGIC
From the moment Riley Green turned his chair, Evan choosing the country star seemed like the obvious outcome.
Even Riley appeared confident that another country singer might be headed his way.
Adam Levine, however, made Evan think differently.
Adam pointed out that Riley and Kelly already had several country artists on their teams.
Team Adam did not.
Rather than simply asking Evan to choose him based on musical genre, Adam argued that Evan could become the country artist who stood out on his roster instead of competing for attention among numerous similar singers.
The strategy worked.
Evan said he was taking a “leap of faith” and chose Team Adam, stunning the other coaches.
The move also gave his Morgan Wallen connection another unexpected layer, since Wallen himself competed under Adam during part of his own Voice journey.
Evan James may have walked into the Blind Auditions as another young country singer hoping for a chair turn.
He left with three coaches wanting him, a surprising new mentor and a chance to show that his musical identity extends well beyond one Morgan Wallen cover.
And considering his background — from a generations-old Christmas tree farm to college classrooms, church stages and now The Voice — viewers have only begun learning who Evan James really is.
