{"id":10546,"date":"2023-03-16T08:14:22","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T12:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/?p=10546"},"modified":"2023-07-27T10:40:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T14:40:47","slug":"straight-outta-statesboro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ww2.georgiasouthern.edu\/news\/magazine\/2023\/03\/16\/straight-outta-statesboro\/","title":{"rendered":"Straight Outta Statesboro"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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STRAIGHT
OUTTA
STATESBORO<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Georgia Southern Alumnus
Bryce Leatherwood Crowned Winner of \u2018The Voice\u2019<\/em><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Alumnus Bryce Leatherwood (\u201822) didn\u2019t take the path of a typical Bachelor of Business Administration graduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After finishing his degree at Georgia Southern, he joined the cast of season 22 of \u201cThe Voice,\u201d the Emmy-winning musical competition series. A native of Woodstock, Georgia, Leatherwood landed on the team coached by country music star Blake Shelton and defeated four other finalists to be crowned the winner during the season finale in December. Leatherwood\u2019s win comes with a $100,000 grand prize and a record deal with Universal Music Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia Southern Magazine caught up with Leatherwood a few weeks after his win to talk about his musical beginnings at Georgia Southern, the power of Eagle Nation and where he\u2019ll go next as a budding country music star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Georgia Southern Magazine: <\/strong>When did you get started in music?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryce Leatherwood:<\/strong> <\/strong>I\u2019ve been performing live for over five-and-a-half years. I\u2019ve played around my hometown and then came down to Statesboro during my time there and began playing at venues like Eagle Creek Brewing Company, Southern Social and Shenanigans back when that was a joint. I\u2019ve played out on patios in Statesboro hundreds of times. That\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM: <\/strong>So you had a busy music career even at Georgia Southern?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BL: <\/strong>Very much so. And, you know, I have to thank Statesboro in large part for my musical growth and all of the things I picked up by working the crowd and performing live for the best and most dedicated fans in Georgia, in Statesboro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM: <\/strong>What made you decide to audition for \u201cThe Voice?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BL: <\/strong>You know, I kind of took it on a whim. There was no thought process behind it. I just saw an advertisement and after a night of performing in Statesboro, I was like, \u2018Might as well!\u2019 So I sent in a couple of videos and the rest is history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM:<\/strong> What\u2019s the process of being on \u201cThe Voice?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BL: <\/strong>You got to go through a slew of interviews and they get to know you and what you\u2019re about, and they get to know what kind of music you like to sing and play. And they pick based upon that and they chose me, which is really cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM: <\/strong>How big a role do you think Eagle Nation played in your win on \u201cThe Voice?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LEATHERWOOD THE GRADUATE: Bryce Leatherwood graduated from Georgia Southern in 2022 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in business.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

BL: <\/strong>Oh, man. The people of Statesboro, Georgia, and everyone at Georgia Southern played a huge role. I have a bunch of buddies that are still down there and they\u2019re telling me every week they\u2019re getting everybody to vote. And everybody\u2019s been talking about it. And it\u2019s caused quite a buzz. Man, I made a return to Statesboro about, I\u2019d say close to a month ago, and I went out to the bars down there and man, everybody was just over the moon, which was very surprising. It made me very proud to see all of my fellow Georgia Southern Eagles, and they were very excited to see me and congratulate me and get a picture or two and spend some time talking to me. So it was really, really good. And it was an eye-opening experience to see how much love that town has shown me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM: <\/strong>What\u2019s life been like since you won the competition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BL: <\/strong>Life\u2019s been crazy. I\u2019ve been writing three songs a week. I\u2019ve been to Nashville, sleeping on couches and grinding there and then traveling on the weekends either back home or to shows. And we\u2019re excited to start breaking out of Georgia and going elsewhere. But then we can\u2019t wait to come back to Georgia and perform around the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m in the process of moving to Nashville. I\u2019m kind of everywhere right now. Like I said, I\u2019m sleeping on a buddy\u2019s couch up there and writing music and doing a bunch of meetings and getting everything ready to go with putting music out and recording and taking the right songs. So right now I\u2019m just kind of freelancing. I\u2019m a nomad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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GSM: <\/strong>Do you envision kind of having a career trajectory like the people who\u2019ve gone before you \u2014 Cole Swindell and Luke Bryan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BL: <\/strong>Oh, absolutely. I see myself representing the Eagle Nation for the rest of my life. And I see myself doing this rest of my life. I see no other path. I see music being my life for the rest of my life, and I promise to always support Georgia Southern and to always return to Georgia Southern just like one of those names you said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM: <\/strong>What kind of relationship have you developed with your coach, Blake Shelton?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BL:<\/strong> <\/strong>Blake\u2019s a hoot, man. He\u2019s the real deal. What you see is what you get from Mr. Blake. He\u2019s been very much in my corner since the show. He\u2019s been keeping up with me and he congratulated me on all these sold-out dates we\u2019re getting. And he\u2019s just very happy to see me continuing to work. And people ask me, \u2018Well, when are you going to send him the songs you record?\u2019 And I\u2019m like, \u2018Well, he\u2019ll hear them when it\u2019s time. You know, I don\u2019t want to bug the man.\u2019 That\u2019s a relationship you\u2019ve got to take care of. And Blake\u2019s an incredible person, and I know he\u2019s always there for me. He\u2019s a phone call away. I\u2019ve called him twice and he\u2019s picked up every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM: <\/strong>Are you recording an album? Is that next?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BL: <\/strong>We\u2019re looking at releasing some music very soon. I don\u2019t have a date confirmed yet, but we\u2019ve already been writing some great songs. And we\u2019re going to put out the best of the best that we got so far. I\u2019ve written like three songs a week for the past two months, so you can imagine sorting through all those and just trying to pick what I think resonates with people the most and is the music that I want to make.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM:<\/strong> <\/strong>Eagle Nation is out there rooting for you. What do you want to say to them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BL: <\/strong>Well, if there\u2019s one thing I had to say to them it\u2019s thank you for all your support. I can\u2019t wait to come perform for all of y\u2019all again. And that\u2019ll be coming up very soon. And to everybody who watched the show and wants to keep following me, just hang on tight. We got some great stuff coming up. Man, just really, thank you. That\u2019s all I got to say. Thank you. Thank you for everything you\u2019ve done. I can\u2019t wait to come party with y\u2019all soon. \u2014 Doy Cave<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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