Sawyer Fredericks

Sawyer Christopher Fredericks (born March 31, 1999) is an American singer–songwriter who won the eighth season of The Voice in 2015. Choosing Pharrell Williams as his coach, Fredericks set series iTunes sales records^[1] and became the youngest winner in series history alongside Danielle Bradbery (both at the age of 16).^[2]

Early life

Fredericks was born to Kirsten L. and Carl F. Fredericks on March 31, 1999 in Newtown, Connecticut, the youngest of three brothers.^[3] At age eight, his family moved to an 88-acre farm near Fultonville, New York.^[4] He is home-schooled using the Unschooling method.^[5]

At age 11, Fredericks received voice training^[6] and began performing regionally at farmers markets, open mics, community events, and folk clubs (such as The Bitter End in New York City).^[7] He was a finalist in the Young Artist Talent Search in Pawling, New York in 2012.^[8]

Career

First recordings

In 2012 Fredericks recorded a demo of six original songs, entitled Breaking Ice.^[3] On June 4, 2013, he independently released his first studio album, Out My Window, consisting of 15 original tracks.

2015: The Voice

From February to May 2015, Fredericks competed on the eighth season of The Voice. Talent scouts from the show invited him to participate in pre-show auditions after taking notice of YouTube videos of his singing.^[9] On his televised blind audition he sang "I'm a Man of Constant Sorrow", a traditional folksong he had earlier adapted to perform while busking.^[10] Coaches Adam Levine, Pharrell Williams, and Christina Aguilera turned around their chairs within ten seconds, and Blake Shelton joined them 40 seconds later. Fredericks chose Williams as his coach.^[11]

In his Battle round, Fredericks teamed up with Noelle Bybee to sing Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" and was chosen by Williams to advance. In his Knockout round, Fredericks sang in a three-way match with Mia Z. and Paul Pfau, after Anthony Riley withdrew from the competition. Fredericks’ performance of Howie Day's "Collide" earned him (along with Mia Z.) an advance into the Top 20.

In the Playoff rounds, Fredericks advanced to the Top 12 covering Ray LaMontagne’s "Trouble", and to the Top 10 with John Lennon’s "Imagine". Falsetto notes in the latter presented a challenge to Fredericks, whose voice was changing.^[12] He received the first iTunes Singles Chart top 10 multiplier bonus of the competition with "Imagine", reaching the second position by the close of the voting window.^[13] He advanced to the Top Eight with Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" (reaching the fourth position on iTunes, edged out by Koryn Hawthorne at third),^[14] and to the Top Six with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s "Simple Man" (reaching the second position on iTunes).^[15]

In the Top Six, Fredericks performed Al Green’s "Take Me to the River" (reaching the tenth position on iTunes), featuring an energetic teen dance troupe surrounding the more reserved singer. For his Mother’s Day dedication song Fredericks was allowed, in a rare move by The Voice, to choose a song which hadn’t been released by a major label, May Erlewine’s "Shine On”. In a further twist, Erlewine revealed that while giving permission for use of the song, she was nevertheless a strong backer of The Voice competitor Joshua Davis.^[16] “Shine On” rose to the third position on iTunes, the highest rated song on The Voice that week.^[17] The day after the Top Six results show, he returned to New York for a homecoming visit, participating in a parade and performance of three songs before over 4,000 people at Fonda Speedway (Fultonville, New York), and an evening concert at the Palace Theatre.^[18]

In the Top Five, Fredericks' covers of Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years" and Buffalo Springfield's "For What it's Worth" both garnered him the highest ratings of the week, reaching the second and third positions on iTunes, respectively.^[19]

For the May 18, 2015 finale show, Fredericks released the single "Please" (an original song written by Ray Lamontagne) and an accompanying music video.^[20] For his duet selection, Fredericks and Williams performed the Seals and Crofts tune "Summer Breeze". The show ended with Fredericks' cover of Neil Young's "Old Man". By noon the next day, "Summer Breeze" had reached the nineteenth position on iTunes, "Old Man" the third, and "Please" the second.^[21]

On the May 19, 2015 results show, Fredericks shared the stage with John Fogerty in a medley of Creedence Clearwater Revival hits — "Born on the Bayou", "Bad Moon Rising" and "Have You Ever Seen the Rain". Apparent audio problems affected the broadcast.^[22] Fredericks was declared the winner at the end of the show, with Meghan Linsey second, Joshua Davis third, and Koryn Hawthorne fourth. Winning contestants receive $100,000 and a recording contract with Republic Records.

According to Republic, Fredericks broke many series sales records for The Voice, with nine singles reaching the iTunes top 10, and 14 singles charting in the Top 200 during the final week. A total of nearly one million digital singles were sold in the course of the show.^[1] Throughout the competition Fredericks maintained a strong social media presence, with leading numbers of followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.^[23] Fredericks

Chart of The Voice performances

     Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

2015-2016: A Good Storm and Touring

In May 2015, following his win on The Voice, Fredericks signed a recording contract with Republic Records.^[1] He performed on June 6, 2015 as a headliner at FLY92.3 Summer Jam 2015 in Saratoga Springs, New York.^[24] During the summer of 2015, Fredericks performed at the New York State Fair, Festival for the Lake, and opened for Trace Adkins at the Fonda Fair; he also performed with former The Voice contestant Mia Zanotti at the Mercury Lounge in New York City on September 20, 2015, and with Meghan Lindsey at the City Winery in Nashville on October 12, 2015.^[25] On October 23, 2015, the album "Magic Strings of Frankie Presto: A Musical Companion to the Novel by Mitch Albom" was released and included the song "Forever Wrong (Frankie & Aurora's Love Theme)", co-written and recorded by Fredericks. He opened for A Great Big World at the famed Troubadour in West Hollywood, California, on November 6, 2015.^[26] Fredericks released his first EP, self-titled "Sawyer Fredericks," on November 28, 2015, which reached #2 on the Billboard Folk chart.^[27] He then opened for Good Old War for three shows (in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia) in December, 2015.^[28]

Sawyer Fredericks at The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA on September 4, 2016

Fredericks started 2016 by opening for Langhorne Slim & The Law at four shows on the US west coast.^[29] In February, his video for the single "Take It All" was released^[30] and he debuted his newly formed band at the Towne Crier in Beacon, New York. Band members include Chris Morrison on guitar, Arthur Lee Fredericks on bass, and Bob Henderson on drums.^[31] On March 11, 2016, Fredericks performed at the legendary Levon Helm Studios ("The Barn") in Woodstock, NY.^[32] Later in March, Fredericks was presented with a custom Bourgeois OMSC guitar that was a gift from his fans, known as "Team Sawyer."^[33] In May 2016, Fredericks returned to The Voice to perform his second single "4 Pockets,"^[34] after which he embarked on a 14-city west coast headlining tour.^[35] On May 13, 2016, his LP "A Good Storm" was released (Republic Records), debuting at #2 on the Billboard Folk chart and selling 11,000 copies in the US in its first week.^[27] Reviewer Kira Grunenberg said "The musical aesthetics that take shape over A Good Storm are plentiful, which immediately removes Fredericks from the stable of a one-trick pony."^[36] In his review of the single "4 Pockets," Michael Slezak, of TV Line, stated "Who knew the shiny, happy teenager had such a well of dark lyrics, darkly delivered, within him? I dig!”^[37] "A Good Storm" saw Fredericks in collaboration with producers Dan Romer, Saul Simon MacWilliams, Mikal Blue, Johan "Izy" Lindbrandt, Jamie Hartman, Jayson Dezuzio, and Pharrell Williams, as well as co-writers Dan Romer, Saul Simon MacWilliams, Dave Bassett, Mikal Blue, Johan "Izy" Lindbrandt, Shari Short, Jamie Hartman, Jayson Dezuzio, Whitney Phillips, Tara Lee, and Foy Vance.^[38]

Fredericks completed a US tour to support "A Good Storm" with 49 shows across the US, from May through September, 2016. ^[29][39] On October 8, 2016, he sang the National Anthem and performed at the Patriot Awards Gala at the Medal of Honor Convention in Minneapolis, MN.^[40] Olivia Millerschin and Fredericks recorded a duet of her song "When," which was released on her album "Look Both Ways" on September 23, 2016.^[41] In November of 2016, Fredericks announced a December "Winter Storm Tour" to 12 cities in the Eastern US with guests Mia Z. and Gabriel Wolfchild & The Northern Light.^[42]

Philanthropy

Fredericks has performed and/or given support to a number of charitable causes. Before winning The Voice, he performed in a showcase at the Youth Arts Forum at the Bitter End in New York City on June 7, 2014 to benefit the YAF and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.^[43] He also performed at a benefit for the Glen Volunteer Fire Department on February 28, 2015.^[44] Shortly after winning The Voice in May 2015, he performed “Imagine” for a crowd on Red Nose Day (May 21, 2015) in New York City to raise money for poverty-stricken children.^[45] On September 3, 2015, he performed at a gala and auctioned off a signed guitar to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.^[46] Fredericks contributed to raising over $1 million for Detroit’s neediest citizens when he appeared at the Fourth Annual S.A.Y. Detroit Radiothon hosted by Mitch Albom on December 10, 2015. A signed hat worn by him on The Voice was auctioned off to raise funds for the charity.^[47] After the 2016 flood in Louisiana, Fredericks teamed up with his “Voice” alum and Louisiana native, Meghan Linsey, to collect Louisiana flood relief donations at his concerts in late summer of 2016.^[48] Fredericks contributed signed CDs and a signed hat he wore on The Voice to be auctioned off to benefit the Sean Craig Memorial Fund.^[49] Fredericks played for a crowd of nearly 1,000 in Gloversville, NY on October 28, 2016 to benefit Mountain Valley Hospice.^[50]

Discography

Extended plays

Albums

Singles

Music Videos

Awards and Nominations

References