Evan James walked onto The Voice singing a Morgan Wallen hit.
Then he made a decision that created an unexpected connection to Wallen’s own history on the show.
The 22-year-old singer from Highland, Michigan, performed “Wasted on You” during the final Blind Auditions of Season 30, putting a soulful edge on one of Wallen’s biggest songs.
Kelly Clarkson, Riley Green and Adam Levine all turned their chairs as Evan reached the biggest part of the performance, giving him a three-chair turn.
Kelly praised Evan for making such a familiar song sound different enough to feel like his own.
She heard elements of country and R&B in his voice, while Riley praised the way Evan settled into the performance and became increasingly confident as the song continued.
But the Morgan Wallen song choice raised another question for viewers:
Was Morgan Wallen himself once a contestant on The Voice?
The answer is yes.
Long before becoming one of country music’s biggest stars, Wallen competed on Season 6 of The Voice in 2014.
He was only 20 at the time and looked and sounded considerably different from the country performer audiences would later come to know.
For his Blind Audition, Wallen performed Howie Day’s “Collide.”
Usher and Shakira turned for him, and Wallen ultimately chose Team Usher.
His journey didn’t end there.
Wallen survived his first Battle after performing “Hey Brother” with Brothers Walker.
During the second Battle round, however, Usher chose Stevie Jo over Wallen after their performance together.
That could have ended Wallen’s run.
Instead, Adam Levine stole him.
Suddenly, the future country star became a member of Team Adam — the same coach Evan James has now chosen more than a decade later.
Wallen eventually reached the Playoffs, where Adam eliminated him before the Live Shows.
He therefore never won The Voice, never reached the finale and wasn’t even part of the live voting portion of his season.
Yet his career after the competition became far bigger than his placement on the show might have suggested.
That history makes Evan’s audition particularly interesting.
Evan didn’t simply sing a Morgan Wallen song.
Like Wallen, he also ended up choosing Adam Levine as part of his Voice journey.
And Evan’s decision wasn’t the obvious one.
With Riley Green sitting in a red chair as Season 30’s country coach, many expected a singer performing “Wasted on You” to naturally select Team Riley.
Adam convinced Evan to think differently.
He pointed out that Riley already had several country singers, whereas Evan could occupy a much more distinctive position on Team Adam.
Adam told him he would “definitely stand out.”
Evan then announced that he was ready to take what he called a “leap of faith” and selected Adam.
The choice surprised the room, but Evan has made clear that Wallen’s path is meaningful to him.
Coverage surrounding his audition notes that the Michigan singer hopes to follow in the footsteps of artists such as Wallen — singers whose appearance on The Voice became only the beginning of a much larger career.
Of course, their stories aren’t identical.
Wallen started with Usher and later moved to Adam through a Steal, while Evan actively chose Adam after three coaches turned for him.
But the parallel is difficult to miss.
More than 12 years after Morgan Wallen competed on The Voice, another young country singer has arrived singing one of Wallen’s songs — and has once again found himself on Team Adam Levine.
Whether Evan James’ “leap of faith” leads anywhere close to the career Wallen eventually built remains to be seen.
But for now, the connection gives his Season 30 journey an intriguing beginning: the song was Morgan Wallen’s, the coach was once Morgan Wallen’s, and the dream is now Evan James’ own.
