With 'The Voice' pass in hand, Montgomery's Riley Tate comes home, gets driver's permit

Life’s really on the move for Montgomery’s rising teen singer Ryley Tate Wilson.

Along with being guaranteed a spot in the playoffs on NBC’s “The Voice” for season 23, he’s also somewhat mobile.

“I actually passed my (driver’s) permit test last week,” said Ryley Tate, 15, the son of Kelley and Todd Wilson. “I’m super excited about that. I’ve been driving everywhere I can now, with my mom in the car. It turns out if you study, it’ll actually help you pass.”

Along with being on national TV, stories and photos of Ryley Tate have been flooding social media since his debut on “The Voice” weeks ago, giving him some fame while he’s out in public back home. He thinks it’s cool when he’s out at a grocery store or a restaurant and people come up to get a selfie with him.

“It hasn’t crossed a line to be overbearing yet,” Ryley Tate said. “It’s really fun to me, being somewhere and having someone like, ‘Are you that kid from The Voice?’”

Yes, he signs autographs, especially on Ryley Tate Wilson t-shirts being distributed by a family member. It’s a good time to get practice with that, since he’s looking at a future with music.

“I’ve been working on my solo music while I’ve been home, while (‘The Voice’) episodes have been airing,” Ryley Tate said. “I’m working on writing and producing my first album, which I’m super, super excited to do. I love all the songs on it.”

He said it’ll be a mixed genre project. “It’s hard to describe. It’s alternative, pop. It’s a lot of different genres,” Ryley Tate said. “It definitely floats somewhere in the middle of pop, R&B, alternative, rock.”

While all the battle winners were preparing to go into the knockouts on “The Voice,” Ryley Tate was able to come home to family and friends for 10 days thanks to his Team Niall Playoff Pass.

“The hardest part about being away is being away from people that you care about,” Ryley Tate said.

Being away on a televised music adventure in California also makes it hard to study. He admits he’s gotten a little behind. Fortunately, Ryley Tate’s teacher in Alabama is also a big fan — he’s homeschooled by his mom.

“I can make it up in the summer,” he said.

Hollywood adventures

While there’s a whole lot to see and do around Universal Studios and Hollywood, Calif., where “The Voice” is filmed, Ryley Tate said most of the contestants’ time is spent at their hotel.

But there have been a couple of adventures.

“We went and saw the Hollywood sign at Griffith Park, which was really cool,” Ryley Tate said.

He also really enjoyed going to the beach and seeing the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

During his California trips, Ryley Tate has had a special someone at his side — his mom.

“She’s the one that’s come up every time,” he said. “There’s one family member, one guardian, allowed to come up. She’s always been the one. It’s been great to have someone in the hotel room to talk too and stuff. I know a lot of other contestants don’t have that. They’ve told me that they really wish they had their mom there with them.”

Reflecting on the battle rounds

The show's outcomes were no surprise to Ryley Tate. He lived through them months ago, starting with a four-chair turning blind audition. Recently, his church in Montgomery hosted a “The Voice” watch party that was like no other. It had three Montgomery resident contestants from this season in attendance — Ryley Tate, D.Smooth (David Mitchell) and Jerome Godwin III.

“That was super fun,” Ryley Tate said. “We’ve had David and Jerome over a few times at our house also, which has been really cool.”

It was that kind of friendship, talent and coach Niall Horan that saw Ryley Tate through his battle round. Here’s what happened:

Ryley Tate found another friend in Tulsa, Okla.-native singer Michael B. Williams, who lives in Los Angeles, Calif. They performed Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary,” a song which was much more of an amazing duet than battle.

“Me and Michael B. hit it off really quick, right away,” Ryley Tate said. “Both of us were a little bit nervous, because we didn’t know what it was going to be like to work with someone else in a situation like this. But it worked out really well. As soon as we started, we were clicking really fast. We were passing ideas back and forth. We nailed down an arrangement fast. I think that helped us in the long run.”

Technically, Ryley Tate didn’t win the battle. Michael B. was declared the winner by Horan, and would advance into the knockouts.

“I definitely thought it was going to be my last time on stage for a few minutes there,” Ryley Tate said.

Just as Ryley Tate was starting to say goodbye, Horan hit the button for his only playoff pass, which pushed Ryley Tate past knockouts and into the playoff rounds.

“That was definitely the outcome we were going for with me and Michael, to have one of us win and one of us get the playoff pass,” Ryley Tate said. “There’s no hard feelings. There wouldn’t have been hard feelings anyway. But there’s no survivor’s guilt getting the playoff pass, because you both go through.”

This was the first season for playoff passes to be available on “The Voice.” Each of the four coaches had one available, and Montgomery singers captured two of them — D.Smooth also got a playoff pass from coach Kelly Clarkson after losing in his battle.

“I think that’s super cool that we have two people from Montgomery that ended up getting playoff passes,” said Ryley Tate.

A bonus to winning a playoff pass is being covered with an explosion of shiny streamers. Some of those from his episode are back home with Ryley Tate in Montgomery, a souvenir of the experience.

“I took a couple of them home with me. I’m not sure where they are right now,” Ryley Tate said. “My mom has them.”

While playoff passes on episode 9 made it extra fun for Ryley Tate and D. Smooth, episode 10 had its ups and downs. Godwin won his battle and moved on to the knockouts. JB Somers, a Montgomery native singer/songwriter living in Nashville, was cut from the competition after losing his battle. By that time, Team Kelly’s playoff pass had already been used on D.Smooth and most of the other coaches’ steal options had already been used.

“It’s sad to see people who are really talented go home,” Ryley Tate said.

READ MORE

Montgomery's 'The Voice' singers snag two playoff passes in Monday's battle rounds

Montgomery's 'singing dentist' Jerome Godwin III advances on 'The Voice'

Montgomery's Ryley Tate Wilson, 15, a step closer to dreams on 'The Voice'

Montgomery resident D.Smooth finds a 'Perfect' path to compete on 'The Voice'

Jerome Godwin III gives a 'POV' performance to smile about on 'The Voice'

Montgomery native JB Somers had a 'huge, beautiful moment' on 'The Voice'

Looking ahead to the knockouts

Monday at 7 p.m. is the premiere of the knockouts, which will at some point feature Godwin in competition.

If you watch the knockouts closely, you’ll likely see Ryley Tate, D.Smooth and the other playoff pass winners — Manasseh Samone and Mary Kate Connor — in the audience.

“I got to sit in the stands during the knockouts, which was really cool, and watch all of the knockout tapings,” Ryley Tate said.

Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel covers things to do in the River Region. Contact him at sheupel@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: 'The Voice' star Riley Tate comes home to fame, gets driver's permit