Upper Arlington resident competes on ‘The Voice’
Before James Pyle took the stage at Universal Studios Hollywood in front of celebrity judges on “The Voice,” he could count on one hand the number of times he had sung live in front of people.
There were the two open-mic nights the Upper Arlington resident had done at Gatsby’s in Gahanna before the pandemic hit — “for like 15 people,” he said — and that one time 10 years ago when he performed at a battle of the bands competition with his brother and father. That’s it.
“I’ve been recording music forever, but the only people who have heard me sing are close friends and family,” said Pyle, 30, a California native who spent most of his childhood and young adulthood as a drummer. “I’d email the same 10 people whenever I wrote a new song.”
Now, not only have the likes of John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani listened to him belt out a tune, but so have the millions of people worldwide who watch NBC’S popular singing competition in its 19th season.
Pyle will sing Monday on the show, which airs at 8 p.m. on WCMH-TV (Channel 4).
So far, the judges have liked what they heard.
“It was a masterful performance,” Legend told Pyle after his “blind audition” that aired Nov. 2 in which he sang a soulful yet playful rendition of Harry Styles’ “Watermelon Sugar.”
“They’re all jealous of me because I’m the only one left with a slot on my team,” Legend said, referring to the other three judges.
Pyle sang after the other three superstars had already filled their rosters. Stefani predicted that Pyle would have had all four judges turn their chairs for him if he had performed earlier.
“You’re definitely one of the best
singers we’ve heard,” Stefani said, adding that she would be looking to “steal” him later in the competition.
Pyle said that he is thrilled to be working with Legend, a Springfield native.
“I felt like it was a match made in heaven,” Pyle said. “That’s my style, and he’s so cool.”
It has taken Pyle years to find his voice as a “pop soul” singer, both literally and figuratively. He grew up a drummer because that’s what his school band needed, and with a dad who played guitar and introduced him to the sounds of classic rock legends such as Jimi Hendrix and Metallica.
People around him tended to tell him things such as, “Stick to being a drummer,” and though he knew he could sing, for whatever reason, he never did, he said.
Pyle said he spent most of his 20s tinkering in his makeshift home studio, learning guitar, playing drums and working on his voice, but only for recordings that he made.
Three years ago, he and his wife, Jami, and their young son, Henry, moved to Columbus from their home near Los Angeles for a cheaper cost of living and change of pace. The couple has since added a daughter, Nora, to their family.
Being away from his family for the show — he had to isolate during filming at a hotel near the studio in California because of COVID-19 — was a challenge, he said. At least he could still talk to them and sing to them on Facetime.
“I have a little EP and they’ll tell me, ‘Dad, I don’t like this one, play this one,” Pyle said. “They definitely have their clear favorites (of my songs).”
Pyle, who currently works as a safety and health consultant for crane operators, said he finally decided to try out for “The Voice” because he reached a place where he had figured out who he was as an artist.
“I just wanted my music to be heard and to be validated as a singer,” Pyle said. “Everyone knows me as a drummer, and I wanted to break out and show that I can be in the front of a band.”