Joe Henley went into Season 30 of The Voice focused on basketball, with little experience performing before a crowd. Now, at 19, the Alabama singer is weighing a year away from the sport to find out where music might take him.
The change has come quickly. Three days after graduating from high school, Henley flew out to join the competition. Before the show, his singing was mostly for family and friends, or at a small room in a truck stop where his mother had run a ministry for more than 40 years. His Blind Audition brought nerves he had rarely faced before: he sang with his eyes closed, worried his voice would crack, then opened them to see Kelly Clarkson and Riley Green turn their chairs. He chose Green as his coach.
A difficult Battle
Henley’s Battle with Kenna Elpers put him onstage with a more experienced performer for “Don’t Mind If I Do,” the duet by Green and Ella Langley. The two sang with gentle guitar accompaniment and complementary vocals. Clarkson praised Elpers’ vibrato and singled out the depth of Henley’s voice, while Adam Levine and Queen Latifah also complimented his singing.
Green said he was a fan of both contestants and wanted them both on his team. He ultimately chose Henley to advance. The result was difficult for the teenager to process: he admired Elpers and felt she had more experience, and later said he did not feel he fully deserved the outcome. At the same time, he described singing alongside Green as one of the coolest experiences of his life.
The coach’s advice has also helped Henley consider music as a real option. When Henley asked what Green would do if he were 19 and had not yet started a music career, Green encouraged him to give it a try. The sudden attention and social-media interest that followed the show, Henley said, were hard to prepare for.
Finding a sound—and a direction
Henley’s musical touchstones include Keith Whitley, Vince Gill, Don Williams and Travis Tritt. He is drawn to older country recordings and hopes to develop a traditional sound that puts feeling and storytelling at its center. He works on his lower register with Randy Travis’ “Promises” and practices the vocal runs in “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” including those in Tori Kelly’s version.
Before The Voice, Henley had considered college basketball and even playing professionally overseas. He is now contemplating stepping away from basketball for a year to explore music, without assuming the show will lead to a permanent career. If it does not, he is open to returning to other work. For now, he is focused on learning, performing and seeing where this unexpected opportunity leads.
