James Wolpert
| James Wolpert | |
|---|---|
| Born |
December 26, 1990 (age 23) Strasburg, Pennsylvania |
| Occupations | Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar |
| Years active | 2013 – present |
| Associated acts | Adam Levine |
James Wolpert (born December 26, 1990)[1] is an American singer, best known for his appearance on Season 5 of the NBC singing competition The Voice as part of Adam Levine's team.[2]
Early life
Originally from Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Lampeter-Strasburg High School,[3] Wolpert moved to Pittsburgh to attend Carnegie Mellon University to pursue art, but dropped out and ended up working as an "Apple Store Genius by day and musician by night",[4] before auditioning on The Voice.[5] As a teenager Wolpert appeared on the television show High School Musical: Get in the Picture where he competed for the chance to win a record contract as well as a cameo appearance in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, he finished in fifth place.
He has a younger sister, Rachael. He is a first cousin of actor and singer Jonathan Groff.[6]
Musical career
Wolpert's first major exposure ensued after he auditioned for the fifth season of The Voice. In his blind audition, Wolpert sang "Love Interruption" by Jack White and impressed all four judges Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton to turn their chairs, signifying their interest in him joining their team. Ultimately, Wolpert chose to join the team of Adam Levine.[3] Subsequently, he sang "Radioactive" against Will Champlin in the battle round, which he won.[7] After that, despite his self-described "atrocious" performance, he advanced in the knockout round singing "More Than a Feeling" by Boston. Wolpert commented, "I picked the song because it's super challenging ... as I got on stage, something just went wrong. I am my own worst critic, so I completely recognize it was atrocious [compared] to what it could have been."[8] Nevertheless, Levine chose him to advance, and he moved on to the first live show, singing "A Case of You", which received rave reviews, and was the winner of the "iTunes Bonus" on the show, as his performance was in the top ten of the most downloaded songs on iTunes. Thus, his iTunes votes from the public were multiplied by five, and ultimately, he advanced to the next round.[9] The following week, he sang "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers, advancing to the top 10.[10] After having to wait until the very end of the show in order to hear that he was saved, he was the first contestant that was saved in the results show the night after he sang "Without You" by Badfinger.[11] A week later, he sang Queen's "Somebody to Love",[12] and a night later, found out he advanced to the top six.[13] The next week would be the most dramatic of the show to that point. After waking up Monday, December 2, the day of the performance, with little voice, he did not talk all day, and sang two songs, I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) and Fell in Love with a Girl, like each of the other Top Six. The next night, he was in the bottom two on the results show, but was saved from the Twitter save over fellow Pennsylvanian Matthew Schuler, and advanced to the next round.[14] On December 10, 2013, Wolpert finished in fourth place along with Cole Vosbury from Team Blake.
- - Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes
| Stage | Song | Original Artist | Date | Order | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blind Audition | "Love Interruption" | Jack White | September 23, 2013 | 1.14 | All four chairs turned Joined Team Adam |
| Battle Rounds | "Radioactive" (vs. Will Champlin) | Imagine Dragons | October 21, 2013 | 9.6 | Saved by Coach |
| Knockout Rounds | "More Than a Feeling" (vs. Juhi) | Boston | October 29, 2013 | 12.5 | Saved by Coach |
| Live Playoffs | "A Case of You" | Joni Mitchell | November 4, 2013 | 13.2 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 12 | "Mr. Brightside" | The Killers | November 11, 2013 | 16.3 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 10 | "Without You" | Badfinger | November 18, 2013 | 18.8 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 8 | "Somebody to Love" | Queen | November 25, 2013 | 20.1 | Saved by Public Vote |
| Live Top 6 | "Fell in Love with a Girl" | The White Stripes | December 2, 2013 | 22.5 | Saved by Instant Save |
| "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" | Meat Loaf | 22.12 | |||
| Live Top 5 (Semifinals) | "With or Without You" | U2 | December 9, 2013 | 24.1 | Eliminated |
References
- ↑ Ferguson, Jon (November 18, 2013). "James Wolpert makes strong bid to advance on 'The Voice'". Lancaster Newspapers. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
- ↑ Noel, Carly (September 24, 2013). "Pittsburgh's James Wolpert wins knockout round, moves on to live shows on 'The Voice'". WXPI. Cox Media Group. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wright, Mary Ellen (September 23, 2013). "Lampeter-Strasburg grad James Wolpert shock the judges on "The Voice"". Lancaster Newspapers. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ "James Wolpert". NBC - The Voice. NBCUniversal Media. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Hatmaker, Julia (November 18, 2013). "'The Voice': 5 reasons to cheer for James Wolpert". The Patriot News (Harrisburg, PA). Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Ferguson, Jon (November 6, 2013). "Interview with James Wolpert: L-S grad growing confident on 'The Voice'". Lancaster Newspapers. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
- ↑ Woods, Ashley (October 22, 2013). "'The Voice' recap: the battle rounds get 'Radioactive' during season 5, episode 9". Entertainment - HuffPost. The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Hatmaker, Julia (October 30, 2013). "Strasburg's James Wolpert moves on to live shows in 'The Voice', calls his own performance of 'More Than a Feeling' 'atrocious'". The Patriot News (Harrisburg, PA). Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Pucci, Douglas (November 5, 2013). "The Voice on iTunes (November 4-5, 2013)". TV Ratings & News - Network TV Show Reviews and Daily Ratings. TV Media Insights. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ "James Wolpert makes it to Top 10 on 'The Voice'". Lancaster News - WGAL. Hearst Television. November 13, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Franklin, Mark (November 19, 2013). "James Wolpert, Matthew Schuler advance on The Voice". York Dispatch. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
- ↑ Reiter, Amy (November 26, 2013). "'The Voice' recap: Top 8 hit their sweet spots". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- ↑ Berman, Craig (November 26, 2013). "Thanksgiving comes early for Adam Levine on 'The Voice'". TODAY.com. NBC Universal. Retrieved November 27, 2013.
- ↑ Hyman, Vicki (December 3, 2013). "'The Voice' 2013 results: Yardley, Pa.'s Matthew Schuler sent home". The Star-Ledger (Newark). Retrieved December 4, 2013.