Wilkes Will Go Far In Music

Wilkes who had been among the favorites this season on The Voice failed to make it out of the Live playoffs. While the talented artist did not advance to the Top 12 Wilkes not only made an impression on the coaches, but on America as well.

During his time on The Voice Wilkes had the opportunity to not only work with coach Blake Shelton, but country superstar Trace Adkins. Adkins served as Team Blake’s mentor during the Battle Rounds. What impressed Wilkes the most about Adkins was his views on the state of the country music industry.

“The main thing that actually Blake and Trace both said, they didn’t show it on camera but right at the end of the session I asked them both what they thought of the state of country music currently. The climate of the country music industry a lot of people are kind of up in arms a little bit because they think it’s not country any more and it’s too pop, that whole debate. I just asked them what they thought about it and they both said anything that can happen in the country industry to keep it healthy and any artist that comes out doing things differently that aren’t necessarily what’s been done before their in favor of,” said Wilkes.

“Even if it doesn’t sound like them and it’s going down a different road. Basically the main line that he said that I liked so much was if nobody does anything different eventually country is going to become like blues and it’s going to be one thing that very few people listen to. I thought it was really encouraging to see that he had such a positive outlook on change in the industry that he is in and that I'm a part of,” continued Wilkes.

During the first night of the Live Playoffs Wilkes sang Gavin DeGraw's "Brother" and on the second night the talented singer/songwriter performed No Doubt's "Don't Speak. With each performance Wilkes was able to show America who he is as an artist something he was looking forward to being able to do going into the Live Playoffs.

“The next round I'm looking forward to first off the fact that it’s going to be live. I think it adds a whole other dynamic and energy all around from the contestants to the people watching back stage, the camera operators. There is going to be a this live buzz that everyone is rattling off. I'm excited about that,” said Wilkes.

“I'm also excited about the songs that I have picked out. I'm very strict when it comes to song selection. So I want to make sure for a lack of a better word they all climb up between songs and go somewhere the previous one hasn’t. So I'm looking forward to getting into my artistic side on these next few songs…” continued Wilkes.

Wilkes was able to advance to the Live Playoffs with his performance of “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus. Wilkes impressed both the coach and fans of The Voice and he took song the top 10 of the iTunes rock charts. Wilkes chose the song because of the story behind the lyrics.

"The main thing honestly that went into that decision had nothing to do with vocal performance or ability or anything it was 100 percent about the lyrics in that song. I think for me the most important thing about music is connecting to it and connecting to it as an artist which in turn helps the audience connect with what you’re singing,” said Wilkes.

“Literally I lived that lyric the past 17 years in my career in the music industry. Just kind of having my eye on the prize climbing this quote huge mountains. And when you get to the top of it essentially it’s just an entrance to a bigger one that you still need to climb. You honestly never get there but it’s the experience of the whole thing that makes it worth it. Lyrically that song connects with me more than most songs. So that was 100 percent the reason. Luckily for me I was able to find a good delivery of it too, but it was all about the story of the song,” continued Wilkes.

While Wilkes is no longer on The Voice his fanbase has grown leaps and bounds since he auditioned for the show. The talented singer/songwriter will now focus on getting new music out to his fans. To follow Wilkes' musical journey visit wilkesmusic.com, follow him on Twitter (@WILKESmusic) and Instagram (@wilkesmusic) and like him on Facebook (@WILKESmusic).