Listening to the soulful voice of Ryan Innes, it’s natural to assume the bearded crooner has always dreamed of being an artist and performer. It’s hard to imagine that the former contestant and fan favorite on NBC’s The Voice almost never pursued his passion for music at all.

Growing up in tiny Thatcher, Ariz., Innes was raised in the traditional musical environment of a small town. As a youth, he was classically trained on piano and sang in the Phoenix Boys Choir and local church musical groups. Although he enjoyed performing in these settings, the traditional and classical music didn’t quite connect with him on an emotional level. It wasn’t until he was introduced to R&B that Innes began a deep and personal involvement with music that would begin to change his life.

Although Innes continued to develop a connection with music, he never gave a serious thought to pursuing it until a period of great personal tumult in 2003 caused him to reexamine his life goals and aspirations.

“I was 23 years old, and a lot of things happened that made me take a look at my life,” Innes says. “I had just finished a pre-med degree and realized I didn’t really like science that much. On top of that, I was going through a broken engagement that caused me to take a step back and examine things. Music really became my outlet during that time and gave me a new perspective on what I wanted out of life.”

Innes decided to dedicate himself to developing his talents as an artist and performer. At 24 years old, he applied to the media music program at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, a city that has become a mecca of emerging talent, producing such artists as Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, and Lindsey Stirling.

In 2013, Innes took a break from his residency to try out for NBC’s The Voice. Singing John Mayer’s “Gravity”, Innes quickly received a four-chair turn and picked Usher as his coach. Mentored by Usher and fellow Grammy-winner Pharrell Williams, Innes performed a rendition of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” in the battle rounds, solidifying his place as a crowd favorite.

After The Voice, Innes returned to Utah to focus on writing music for a debut album. He has co-written with Tyler Glenn of Neon Trees, Stuart Maxfield of Fictionist and McKay Stevens and Nate Pyfer who co-wrote Kaskade’s 2014 Grammy-nominated track “Atmosphere”.