Nashville Artist Wendy Moten Joins ‘The Voice’ Fresh Off of the Grand Ole Opry Stage
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Wendy Moten is already labeled as the one to watch ahead of the Season 21 premiere of The Voice. She has been very well-known in the music industry for over three decades. Her career began as an R&B and pop artist before she slowly made the transition to country music.
‘The Voice’ Contestant Wendy Moten Has Had An Extremely Successful Music Career
Wendy is a pastor’s daughter who grew up in Tennessee. She studied classical music at a performing arts high school. Wendy took gigs here and there before finding herself a spot singing with the party band MVP. She signed a deal with EMI very early on in her career. Her self-titled debut album was by far her most acclaimed release under this contract.
She found international success with “Come In Out Of The Rain” in 1992. It landed on both the Billboard Hot 100 and in the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart. Her second album Time for Change saw more success in Japan. David Foster served as one of the producers on the album. Her music releases led to an opportunity to tour with Michael Bolton across the U.S.
The Voice hopeful was also a featured duet singer on tour with Julio Iglesias for 15 years. Wendy has gone on tour with Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and Martina McBride. Some of her other credits include singing background vocals on Carrie Underwood‘s Cry Pretty album and Jimmie Allen‘s self-titled debut EP. She made the move to Nashville over 20 years ago to try her hand at performing country music.
“It just started as a child watching that television show and loving all styles of music and being influenced by many styles of music,” she said. “And it ends here in Nashville, and those doors opened. I can’t even explain it. I’ve had a very unconventional music career.”
She Has Performed At the Grand Ole Opry
Wendy first made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry in April 2019. Performing on the legendary stage is every country artist’s dream. She has played the stage multiple times including a recent performance at the Ryman Auditorium for the Opry Country Classics event. She previously headlined the Opry stage for the Bonnaroo Music Festival. She was also featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum’s Musician Spotlight series.
Since 2016, Wendy has been touring with country legend Vince Gill. He produced her latest album I’ve Got You Covered, released in 2020. The nine-track album is Wendy’s first country album and has been a project that she has had on her mind for years. Gill hand-picked each of the songs that Wendy performed on the album.
She and Gill teamed up for a beautiful duet of Linda Ronstadt’s “Faithless Love.” Gill plays the guitar on the album and enlisted the help of some of the most iconic country musicians for each of the tracks. He personally invited Wendy to join the Grammy award-winning swing band, The Time Jumpers. The group returned to the stage with Wendy as the official lead singer in October 2020.
What to Expect From Wendy Moten on ‘The Voice’ Season 21
Each season of The Voice brings several contestants that have previously had record deals. It is not uncommon for an established artist like Wendy to join the show. The Voice is all about launching careers for people who have not really had superstar status fame yet. Wendy can really become one of the biggest country artists in Nashville by being on the show. It’s all about exposure.
Just based on her experience and journey into the country genre, she will most likely be eyeing a spot on Blake Shelton‘s team. Gill has performed on The Voice before with artists from Shelton’s team. There is a good chance that Shelton already knows Moten, or knows that she has been working with Gill.
You can catch the Season 21 premiere of The Voice at 8 p.m. ET on Sept. 20 on NBC.
