Charlotte’s Bryson Battle reflects on unforgettable run on ‘The Voice’
The latest season of “The Voice” has come and gone but for Charlotte’s Bryson Battle, he’s already making moves for his next chapter in music.
All season long, the 22-year-old singer was a standout in the hit singing competition — from his “four -chair turn” blind audition up until his last performance during the show’s semi-final round (that he missed his college graduation for.)
Though he didn’t walk away as the winner of the show, the Charlotte native who grew up in Harrisburg is already taking the next steps into his music career.
Fresh off his run on the show, Battle chatted with CharlotteFive about his overall experience on “The Voice” and what’s to come in his post-grad journey as a performer.
(Note: This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.)
C5: When and how did you get your start in music?
Battle: “I have been singing for as long as I can remember. There’s not a time in my life that I can remember without singing or music being a huge part … I did theater in high school, and I took that very very seriously because I knew that was something I wanted to go to college for. So the whole musical theater route was kind of like kicking it into high gear, like really taking performing and singing and music a lot more seriously.
C5: What made you want to be on “The Voice?”
Battle: “Honestly, it was something that my parents really pushed me to do. It was my … sophomore, junior year at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and they do auditions for “The Voice” through my school directly. ...
“I missed the audition deadline the first year but the second year mom was like, ‘Please make it a point to just send in a video and just do it. You never know what could happen. Just do it.’ So that year, I did and I got on the show.”
C5: How did you prepare for the show and decide which song you were going to sing for your first time on stage?
Battle: “I’m in this group at my school called Conservatory Cabaret, where we visit nearby retirement homes and assisted living facilities, and we sing for the older people that are there. Usually that set list is usually more pop, more R&B, more soul-type music, so I was thinking through that catalog and thinking of all of the things that I normally sing.
“I sent in a list of different songs that I thought would be really good for the show, and one of the producers on the show had seen this video of me singing ‘A Song for You’ by Donny Hathaway on my Instagram and asked if I could send it another video of me singing it. Little did I know that would be my blind audition song.”
C5: Looking back to that blind audition, how did it feel to get that four-chair turn performance?
Battle: “It felt unreal. It felt like something that I never really saw for myself. I always knew that I wanted to be a singer and I wanted to be a pop star. You just never really know the route of how to get there. … So to have finished the song, to be standing there with all those coaches looking at me, ultimately saying that they wanted me on their team, it was just truly an out of body unreal experience. It was something I can truly not describe.”
C5: What made you want to be on John Legend’s team?
Battle: “I think John had the most experience just because he’s been doing this show for super duper long, and there’s just something to his artistry that I was really drawn to. I think even just referencing my growing up, he was someone who was always sort of the background of my life. There was always John Legend music playing in my house when I was growing up or even driving in the car … and I just also felt like I could learn the most from him because he has such a technical ear, not only for a vocalist, but also from an overall music production standpoint.”
C5: Do you have a favorite performance? If so, which one and why?
Battle: “I would say my playoff performance of ‘POV’ by Ariana Grande was probably my favorite because it was the song that I love. It’s my favorite Ariana Grande song, and Ariana Grande being my one of, if not my favorite, artists of all time — getting to do that song already was like a dream come true ... There was something different about this round in that I felt like I got to make it my own and put little ‘Bryson-isms’ throughout the song.”
C5: Are there any performances you wish you could do over?
Battle: “I think I did the best that I could in each of them so I wouldn’t. I think I was proud and comfortable enough with each of the performances that I gave.”
C5: You were such a standout contestant throughout the entire season. What was going through your mind during the semi-finals waiting to see if you’d made it as a finalist?
Battle: “It was a weird experience. It’s another one that I’ve never really experienced before, and it was something that I hope not a lot of other people have to go through because it doesn’t feel great to be kind of awaiting your fate in that way. … I just remember I was like, ‘I’ve done the best that I could. I trust that what is for me is for me, and whatever happens is meant to happen.’ Those were the things that I was trying to reaffirm in my brain as I hear my heart beating like super duper loud, and I’m super nervous about the results. But I was just trying to calm myself with ‘whatever happens happens, and if it’s for you, it’s for you.’”
C5: Even though you weren’t one of the finalists to move on, how did it feel to have John Legend’s praise to encourage fans to vote for you before the elimination? How did it feel to know you had all that support from your coach?
Battle: “I think it added a layer to my understanding, just because this was a round that John didn’t have any control over. So when it came down to the results, him saying that kind of put this into perspective at this point, it’s just what people are attracted to or … what people like. I think that’s when things get a little muddy sometimes, so I was trying to take myself out of it personally. It’s not like people just didn’t like me. It’s just that some people are more attracted to the style of singing or this person’s sound, and it’s not that one person is better than the other.”
C5: Now that it’s concluded, how would you describe the experience overall?
Battle: “I would describe the experience as being kind of a crash course in the entertainment world. I think there were a lot of things that I had to learn very quickly, especially in terms of what looks good on camera, what sounds good, all of these different aspects of performing that — if you’re not already kind of immersed in that world — are completely new to you …
“I talked about this a little bit before, but I don’t think that experience would’ve been as positive of an experience if it weren’t for the people that were working on the show who genuinely took so much time and care and just put so much energy into me to make sure that I felt comfortable with what was going on. So, overall, the experience was just truly like a dream.”
C5: How do you feel like being on “The Voice” impacted you as a performer?
Battle: “I would say it has impacted me in how I view the performance aspect overall. From a theatrical standpoint, it’s a balance of being internal and external, whereas I feel like being on the show I learned a lot more about the external part of it. I’ve kind of always known how to sing and how to act and emote on stage, but acting performing versus like pop star, like musical recording artist performing, are very different.
“I think I wasn’t as confident in that aspect of my performance abilities. So I felt like I learned a lot about what it means to command a stage and what it means to make others believe in whatever it is that you’re singing and to connect with an audience in that way.”
C5: What’s next for you? Has this experience changed your plans for what you might do with music?
Battle: “I still plan on moving to New York. In fact, I even have a new musical that is opening later this year that I am starring in that I’m very excited about. It’s kind of in that same vein of the performance aspect, like the music for this new musical is by Sia — which is mind-boggling to even say — but the show is called ‘Saturday Church’ and it is opening at New York Theatre Workshop later this year.” (It opens Aug. 27. Tony winners J. Harrison Ghee and Joaquina Kalukang also topline the cast.)
C5: Are you still close with anyone from the show?
Battle: “Yes, I can say I have made so many lovely, wonderful, incredible friends, and they all know that they’re stuck with me for life. I know that I’m stuck with them for life. Honestly every person that I interacted with, I had such a positive experience with.”
C5: For someone who’s said music has always been a part of their life, how does it feel to look and see all of the success and all of the people who have come to learn about you and your journey from the show?
Battle: “To see how far that music has taken me and to see the impact that music has not only created for myself, but the impact that the music that I have been able to spread and share and contribute to … it’s mind-boggling.
“It’s something that I truly can’t wrap my head around, and I think this show has done leaps and bounds for giving me that exposure and exposing other people to me and the kind of person that I am and the kind of art that I create. I’m just so humbled and grateful, and I’m so excited to see what my relationship to music will be in many years to come.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
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