Taylor Phelan received a four chair turn during the Blind Auditions for his performance of “Sweater Weather,” and he eventually went with novice coach Pharrell. Adam Levine stole Phelan during the Knockouts (Phelan went up against Luke Wade), and now the Dallas, Texas native is part of Team Adam going into next week’s Live Playoffs.
Phelan is glad that his time on The Voice is happening right at this moment, as being a family man has helped him focus on all the important things, including sharpening his already impressive skills as a singer/songwriter.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The Voice airs Monday nd Tuesday nights on NBC (8 pm et/pt)/ Our interview with Phelan is below.
First off, can you take us back to your performance of ‘Sweater Weather’ for The Blind Auditions?
That was the perfect launching pad for me to start the season. It was obviously received really well and I couldn’t be more thankful that my entry to the show was received that well.
For me, the performance was important for a lot of reasons. I was nervous as heck and prepared my best to go out there and perform how I knew I could. I tried to do that, it came across, and it went well. That’s really the best thing you can hope for in this situation. It’s kind of a hit or miss thing – there’s so many factors going into it
I was just fortunate that with ‘Sweater Weather.’ It was the right song and my arrangement of it was received well. And honestly, people bought it. There’s only so much I can do and the rest is in the viewers’ hands.
What’s it like having two different coaches on The Voice?
It’s amazing. I really could not be more happy than with the way things turned out for me. A lot of people who talked to me said, ‘Oh man, I wish you would have won.’ But honestly, I think that Luke is where he should be. He really functions well on Team Pharrell and for me I couldn’t be more happy than with being on Team Adam.
Adam and I get a long really well. Our humor aligns, our styles align. Everything just kind of lines up. I think everybody kind of saw that we were a natural fit so that’s why a lot of people wanted me to be on Team Adam from the get go.
But you’re right. It’s amazing having two coaches to pull from and to have gained experienced and input from.
Has being a family helped you focus on your career in a different way?
Absolutely. I think that in my life there’s no mistake that The Voice opportunity is presenting itself now. I’m more mentally and emotionally and spiritually stable than I’ve ever been. A lot of that is attributed to my family – having this kind of center that brings me back down and keeps me more consistent and all of that.
This really could not be happening at a better time for me, because I think it changes your focus, priorities, and your outlook on life. I was talking to my buddy Kyle Korver (Korver is an NBA basketball player) and he was saying that when he had a kid, his game completely changed. It wasn’t anything about his ability or anything, but his perspective and mentality on everything shifted. The approach to everything changed because you adapt and you learn a new skill set.
I think that family is definitely something I have as a benefit in this situation.
Do you see your time on The Voice as grabbing a whole new set of skills that you can put in your tool box for the future?
What’s happening here is that we are in a very short amount of time – we are thrown into this scenario (in which) the tools that we have are just being sharpened. They’re being polished and cleaned up, and so these amazing coaches and this team of producers, they are kind of shaping us and giving us the tools that are missing in our tool kit.
Then it’s really up to use to take them and use them to perform with the tools that we have. It’s been a really interesting experience for me. I have no formal training. I’ve just been a rock guy touring with a band and touring around the country and playing clubs.
This whole experience has been a shocking one because I’ve been able to – it’s been really affirming to me. I’ve just learned so many things that affirm what I’m naturally doing. I’m able to take these new polished tools and apply them. My performing style is just more than what it already was.
Do you see yourself collaborating with Luke in the future?
Luke and I are really good buddies. We live an hour and a half away from one another. We’ve been able to see each other quite a bit even when we’re back home and have the time off. He’s one of my best friends out here so I would love that.
I could see us working and collaborating on something. I don’t want to speak for the both of us, but I can definitely see that happening. We’ve obviously just naturally sat down and jammed and tried to write some stuff and that kind of thing. I can certainly see that – us co-writing a song or something.
Taylor – thank you so much!
Cool. I appreciate it. Thank you so much!
