‘The Voice’ Alum Wendy Moten Says Coaches Didn’t Know About Her Career History Ahead of Blind Auditions
Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Reading Time: 3 minutes
The Voice season 21 runner-up Wendy Moten had a long and successful career in the music industry even before her memorable run on the show. The singer recently sat down to take a look back at how the many opportunities found her in her early years to how she found success after stardom.
Wendy Moten Got Her Start in Music at a Young Age
With over 35 years in the music industry and working with the likes of Michael Bolton, Tim McGraw and many others, Moten had a career any aspiring singer would dream of having. During a recent interview, she revealed that her career was basically already laid out in front of her. She admitted that she only needed to follow it.
“My road was paved for me before I knew it. I had a gift as a young child, but I didn’t realize it,” Moten said. “When opportunities came my way, I took advantage of them because I lived in a music town.”
Unlike most other artists in the field, Moten is one of the few who didn’t experience a lot of hardships in getting known in the music scene. She revealed that she even got her first record deal when a studio owner was amazed by her voice after hiring her to sing jingles.
“I was blessed because the opportunities always found me. The phone was constantly ringing.” Moten said. “However, regardless of how often it rang, I knew I had to be on my game. As I maintained integrity, an excellent reputation, a great work ethic, and dependability, I knew I would always have work.”
Moten Revealed The Voice Coaches Didn’t Know About her Background
As previously mentioned, the pandemic played a huge part in Moten’s decision to audition for The Voice. She initially didn’t know how to stand back up to her feet after the pandemic and fans kept emailing her to try out The Voice.
“COVID shut down everything, so my way of making a living ended,” Moten said. “I didn’t know how I would survive when everything opened back up. I wasn’t even sure if my past tours would still be in place.”
When asked if the show’s coaches recognized her work in the industry, she answered that they knew nothing about her. She admitted that it was probably better that way as she didn’t want her background to affect her chances of getting into the show.
“They didn’t know anything about me. I was curious if they would reject me based on my experience and everyone I recorded with within my bio.” Moten said. “I wondered whether my prior experience would affect my chances of getting on the show. However, I decided to play it since it was my only card.”
The decision paid off in the end as she got a very positive outcome from auditioning in the show. Though she got edged out by American folk trio Girl Named Tom, she still had an unforgettable experience. Additionally, adding her second-place finish to her long list of achievements.
