The Voice Season 22 wrapped on NBC with a result that many viewers might have considered an upset, depending on whose fanbase they fell into. Despite Team Blake's Bodie looking like the clear frontrunner for most of the season, he fell short to fellow country singer and the newest champ Bryce Leatherwood, who had a helluva finale night. Leatherwood overcame the loud and vocal support of the Bodie fandom with his win, while also disproving any doubters online, and if he had any problems facing those issues head-on, he certainly never showed it.
I spoke to Bryce Leatherwood following his well-earned win on The Voice, and made a point to ask how he felt about the massive show of support that Bodie received throughout the season, particularly through the crowd's adopting his two-syllable name into a chant that isn't so easy to tackle with the single-syllable "Bryce." When I asked Leatherwood if he was ever rattled or bothered by the audience chants, he shared his authentic and impressively practical thoughts on how he viewed the situation:
Oh, no. I believe everybody out here has got a whole slew of fans, and Bodie just had probably a couple more than me out there in the crowd, you know? Hey, that’s cool. I love Bodie and who’s to blame him? If I was in the crowd I’d be cheering Bodie too. It’s just a blessing, man. There’s so many incredible artists on this season and I’m just glad I get to represent all of them as the winner. I’m very proud to say that.
It’s all love for Bryce Leatherwood, who could have hypothetically joined in with the crowd chants had he been eliminated earlier in the season. Past contestants on The Voice have echoed the sentiment that they often grow close with their fellow contestants despite competing directly against them, so it’s perhaps not so surprising Leatherwood had nothing but kind things to say about Bodie and other finalists.
Unfortunately, the Internet was not always kind to Bryce Leatherwood, as it goes on social media. While many acknowledged Leatherwood as a strong talent, it’s no secret that he wasn’t seen as the strongest performer on Team Blake. Even after the win, reactions online have stretched to both extremes. I asked Leatherwood if he was aware or, or if looked at, the comments and conversations fans go public with throughout the competition, and the country singer confirmed he's definitely been made privy to such commentary. But rather than letting it make him angry or spiteful, he chooses to view that side of the Voice's audience in a similarly pragmatic way as he views competitor chants, saying:
I’ll always tell people just be careful what you read online because it can impact you especially because you’re an artist and your confidence can be fragile sometimes. But for me, I personally didn’t mind it. People were like, ‘Bryce you can’t be reading that stuff,’ and I was like, ‘I like it,’ and they’d be like, ‘Why? That’s not healthy.’ I’m like, the bad comments is almost like fuel. It’s like, ‘Oh yeah? Well watch this.’ And I’ve used that as fuel for people saying, ‘Oh he’s not good. He’s got to do better, he’s got to be better.’ I’m like, all right, well, I’m gonna try to work harder to be better.
Bryce Leatherwood did work to improve, and given that he’s currently the winner of The Voice Season 22, it’s hard to argue against the success of those results. His win netted Blake Shelton his ninth victory of the series thus far, and set him up for a potential tenth win in his upcoming final season.
As far as what’s ahead in Bryce Leatherwood’s future, the country singer is likely going to be busy working to capitalize on the success of his win. It also appears as though he’ll continue to be unfazed by any criticism he gets along the way, as he shared with me a motto he sticks to when it comes to directly seeking out the opinions of others on his performances online:
I’ve always been trying to find the best or the unorthodox way of success and motivation so I love all the feedback I’ve gotten from online. You just got to be able to take it because not everyone’s gonna like you. You just got to be who you are and be confident in who you are and believe in yourself and you can do anything you want in this life.
Bryce Leatherwood walked away as the winner of The Voice Season 22 with a record deal and $100,000, which isn’t a bad way to head into the holidays. While Leatherwood wasn’t sure if he was going to be spending the next two weeks getting back to working on music or watching the best Christmas movies, it seems like he’s happy with how things turned out and largely unconcerned with any that doubted him along the way.
The Voice Season 22 is done at NBC, but fans can revisit the season with a Peacock Premium Subscription. This season had some phenomenal moments worth revisiting, especially for those who realize this will be Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton’s last season coaching together.
