Country Singer Bryce Leatherwood on Following in ‘The Voice’ Alum Morgan Wallen’s Footsteps and What He Loves About Blake Shelton

The 22-year-old from Woodstock, Georgia on the inspiration and calmness he gets from his 'Voice' coach.

It goes without saying that Bryce Leatherwood hopes to follow in his coach Blake Shelton’s very successful footsteps when it comes to his career after The Voice, but last week, which was the week that the Top 10 sang songs selected by the fans, the fans picked "Sand in My Boots," a hit that controversial country singer Morgan Wallen took to the top of the charts, for the 22-year-old from Woodstock, Georgia to sing.

Wallen was a contestant on season 6 of The Voice. He landed on Team Usher after his Blind Audition, and then was stolen by Adam Levine, but was eliminated in the Playoffs. And through it all, Blake never expressed any interest in getting Morgan on his team!

Bryce says he is very much aware of the fact that Blake didn’t turn his chair for Morgan, but points that Morgan is the most successful Voice contestant to date.

“He’s been crushing the country music business,” Bryce told Parade. “I aspire to be like him, be successful, and have millions of people hear me sing and hear my words. That’s a goal of mine and I think he set the bar pretty high.”

Related: Watch The Voice Country Crooner That John Legend Says Belongs on an Awards Show!

Bryce’s performance of “Sand in My Boots” helped him go through to the semifinals tonight on The Voice, and he wants to thank his fans for recognizing who he is as an artist and picking a perfect song for him to sing.

“They hit the nail on the head with that song,” he said. “That’s actually a song I’ve played for fans on several shows. That’s been one of the staples in my band’s set list. It was an incredible choice, and I was very happy with it. I just hope the fans got what they wanted tonight.”

One thing that the fans also got during the Top 10 performances that they may not even have known they wanted was a look at Bryce without his hat. Luckily, he’s not superstitious about switching up what had been successful for him to date, and he decided it was OK to take the stage sans chapeau.

“I wanted them to see my pretty face,” he said jokingly. But then more seriously added, “I thought why not switch it up and give the viewers a surprise? I love wearing my hat, I always wear my hat, but I thought, I might as well show them who they’re voting for instead of hiding behind the shadow [cast by the brim]. At the end of the day, it’s my heart and soul up there, so the external factors [like wearing a hat] don’t matter too much.”

Performing on The Voice stage in front of Blake and his fellow coaches Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Camila Cabello is always nerve-wracking, not to mention the millions of viewers at home, but Bryce says that Blake has helped big time with that.

“What Blake brings to us is a humble sense of calmness,” Bryce explained. “His mentorship since the beginning has been, ‘Be yourself, be who you are, because you’re a singer and that’s why you’re here.’ At least to me. I think that being in the Live shows opens our eyes to the fact that we’re all supposed to be here. We’re here for a reason. Blake as a coach has given us a sense of calmness. I think he’s excelled with that this season.”

Even so, Bryce’s time on The Voice hasn’t gone off without a hiccup. The second night of Live Shows, for the Top 16, he was in the Bottom 4 and had to sing for the Instant Save. His song choice was “Let Me Down Easy,” and it had all the right stuff to get him through to the Top 13.

Related: Read Blake Shelton's Heartfelt Goodbye to The Voice

Blake later said that he saved Rowan Grace rather than Bryce, because he had faith that if he put Bryce into the Instant Save that he would win the vote.

“Of course, I’m always going to be nervous, especially at a moment like that on live television,” Bryce admitted. “But I almost felt like Blake gave me a mission to go and stay on. With anything that’s challenging, you have to do it with the right mindset, and I believe I did so. I won over the vote of America, which is very nice, very humbling.”

The Voice airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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