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How “Electric” Ryan Coleman Survived a Near-Fatal Car Crash to Land on The Voice
The Voice isn't just about the music, it's also a testament to the indomitable nature of the human spirit.
NBC's The Voice is all about finding the next generation of musical talent, but an oft-overlooked component of the hit competition series is how it provides a wealth of inspiring stories regarding the indomitable nature of human spirit. No matter how tough life gets, our species never fails to pick itself up and dust itself off.
Just last week, for instance, we were introduced to Ashley Bryant, who overcame post-car crash hearing loss to land a coveted spot on Team Reba. Tonight's episode featured the debut of a similar hopeful, 25-year-old Ryan Coleman, whose life (and, by extension, dream of becoming a professional musician) nearly ended with a devastating car accident at the age of 22.
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“I had a severe concussion, I slipped a disc in my back. I was laying in the snow, I was bleeding a lot and couldn’t move much," he recalled before taking the stage. "My concussion lasted several weeks and I was in a bed for a few months. Man, does it change your perspective on things. I was a 22-year-old kid who thought he had the rest of his life to look forward to and one day, you just never know. It’s been a huge motivator. I want to do what I want to. I want to achieve what I want to, because tomorrow is never a given. That’s why I’m here."
Coleman has learned a thing or two about perseverance after spending most of his life as a farmer in his hometown of Chalfont, Pennsylvania. "I was four years old or so when I was milking my first cow," he explained. "Farming is not work for the faint of heart. It really teaches you [about] hard work. It’s not for everybody, but it’s definitely for me."
Watch Ryan Coleman's Blind Audition of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine" on The Voice Season 25
While Coleman had hoped to nab a Chair Turn from Reba, he still landed in country territory once duo Dan + Shay (Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney) swiveled their mega-seat around in the final seconds of his Blind Audition.
"I absolutely loved your tone," Mooney said. "Your voice has an identity and that's what we've been listening for all day. Clearly, you're easy on the eyes, the ladies clearly loved it. I'm so excited to get to work with you, brother ... I can't wait to find out more about who you are and bring out a little bit more of that identity of your voice. It's just phenomenal."
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"It's good to have a Pennsylvania boy on the team," continued Smyers, who originally hails from Wexford, PA. "I loved the performance, man. I know this is a tough scenario to sing in. It's very loud, I don't think you guys have in-ear monitors in. But, man, that whole performance I was just sitting back there, thinking about all the different songs that you could sing to showcase that voice, and I was hearing a lot of country in that too."
Catch new episodes of The Voice Mondays at 8/7c and Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
