Memphis soul sound with Nashville’s current country sound. “That’s really what I wanted to do on the show was present myself as a new thing - sort of a throwback but a new thing at the same time. The way country music is now, it’s not quite as soulful, and it’s more pop-edge driven. And that’s great, and people love that and connect with that. But I wanted to do a different thing - a new sub-genre of country music, soul-country. It’s an idea that is really taking off that it can be really soulful and have a lot of meaning to it. We’ve seen that in the last few weeks with Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton’s performance on the CMAs of the classic country song, ‘Tennessee Whiskey.’ When you put a soulful vocal on a country track, something magical happens and that’s what I tried to do with every single performance on The Voice.” By far the oldest contestant in the Top 12, Barrett used his experience both as a musician and as a former teacher to encourage and mentor the younger participants on the show. He described that for a young artist “it’s easy to get discouraged and think that the only time you have to make it is right now, and if it doesn’t happen right now that it never will. But I’m living proof that that’s not necessarily the case; that this thing is a journey and you need years and years of work and development to become the best artist you can be.” What was it like for Barrett to work so closely with Blake Shelton? “I have an immense amount of respect for Blake Shelton, of course as an artist but also now as a human being. People spend a lot of time trying to figure out who he’s dating and what he’s doing, and the funny thing is, I think he doesn’t get enough credit for the kind of person he is on the inside,” Barrett said. Blake inspired him with exactly what he needed to continue pursuing his dream. “It really shows with the amount of time he takes to nurture starving artists such as myself. For me, I didn’t necessarily need a lot of coaching and detail on “here’s how you sing it,’ but what I needed was validation. And he gave me that. He has a really good way of understanding what an artist needs to reach their full potential. For me, I needed a guy who is operating at the absolute peak of success in the world that I would like to operate in to look me in the eye and tell me I’m good enough and that I belong. That validation is what I needed to finally let go of some self-doubt and things I’ve struggled with for years. Wondering if I’m actually good enough to do this, and he recognized that. It was a really a magical thing for me to get to spend time with a guy like that and for him to take an interest in who I am and take interest in seeing me succeed.” Barrett is sorting out his options for that record deal he has dreamed of, and he’s being diligent in making the moves that are good career choices to make the most of this opportunity. He is also excited to play shows soon in both Marion and Memphis, to personally say “thank you” for all the support and votes he received from the Mid-South. “Memphis really runs deep in my heart and it always will. I just love the city of Memphis, and I really credit it and it runs into my DNA; it is who I am.” And who Barrett Baber is is one soul-full rising country star. Listen to “Falling Again” and to find out about upcoming show dates, visit BarrettBaber.com
Barrett with his wife Sarah, son Brooks and daughter Elliott 34 / 4Memphis
“IT’S EASY TO GET DISCOURAGED AND THINK THAT THE ONLY TIME YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT IS RIGHT NOW, AND IF IT DOESN’T HAPPEN RIGHT NOW THAT IT NEVER WILL. BUT I’M LIVING PROOF THAT THAT’S NOT NECESSARILY THE CASE; THAT THIS THING IS A JOURNEY AND YOU NEED YEARS AND YEARS.”