‘Catch of the Day’ – Morgan Wallen – “The Way I Talk” [AUDIO]

It's Thursday, and today we turn our focus on another in our long list of incredible unsigned indy artists, an artist who first came to our attention on season 6 of The Voice, where he was mentored by Usher and Adam Levine. An artist who was born and raised the small town of Sneedville, TN, a town of about 1300 people, on the Tennessee Virginia line 90 miles or so northeast of Knoxville.

Growing up, Morgan Wallen's dreams weren't of Nashville, they were of standing atop a major league pitcher's mound. He was a standout pitcher and shortstop for Gibbs High School, a school that produced another guy you might have heard of: Kenny Chesney. But an elbow injury during his senior year forcing a tendon replacement procedure (Tommy John Surgery) ended those major league hopes. The injury didn't affect Wallen's abilities on the piano or guitar, and no matter the style of music -- country, rock, or blue grass, Morgan played it with passion that only comes when music comes from the heart.

Wallen had never heard of the TV program The Voice, when his mother signed him up to audition, thinking it might help his career. The young singer made it to the program, turning two chairs, originally picked by Usher, and was quickly stolen by Adam Levine. Wallen made it through the first week, but in week two was eliminated from Usher's team. Levine stepped up and used his steal, bringing Wallen over to his team. Wallen's rescue didn't last long, as he was eliminated in the next round, but his performance of Florida-Georgia Line's "Stay" headed him down his road.

During his time on The Voice, Wallen worked with singer/songwriter Sergio Sanchez, who coached him on the subtleties of singing. After Wallen's elimination, the pair continued working together, with regular writing sessions in Knoxville. Sanchez, the lead singer for the rock band Atom Smash was impressed by the newcomers abilities and determination, so he sent the music to producers Paul Trust and Billy Ray, who agreed to produce the original batch of music.

In 2015, Wallen and Sanchez headed to Nashville and quickly became part of the Music City scene. Wallen's agent sent him to Kevin Neal of William Morris Endeavors, who represents artists including Jason Aldean and Florida-Georgia Line. After a short audition, Neal signed Wallen on the spot. Neal sent demos of Wallen's writing to Big Loud Shirt publishing president Seth England, hoping to line up some writing partnerships for Morgan with writers at the publishing company. Instead he ended up with an audition for Big Loud Records executives, and he was signed by both the publishing company and the record label.

The upstart label proved itself to be ready to play in the big leagues, when their first artist, Chris Lane hit #1 with his debut single "Fix". Wallen hopes to follow the lead of his label mate, writing with some big leaguers for his debut album. He spent 2015 writing with the likes of Chris Wiseman, the Warren Brothers, Chris Thompson and others to put together Morgan's debut album; the first single of the forthcoming project is in our spotlight today. Morgan Wallen and "The Way I Talk" is our Unsigned/Indy Artist Thursday Catch of the Day, new music you haven't heard, but you'll wanna hear it again.