Michael Huntley (born March 15, 1990), aka Huntley, is an American blues rock singer-songwriter. He is the winner of

season 24 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

of the American talent competition '' The Voice'' at the age of 33. He competed on the team coached by

Niall Horan Niall James Horan ( ; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition ''The X Factor''. The group released five albums and went ...

, giving Horan his second win as a coach on the show.

Life and career

Huntley is originally from Spring Hill, Florida, but moved to

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

. Huntley briefly moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, to pursue a career in music but moved back to Fredericksburg prior to auditioning for ''The Voice''. He has two children: a daughter, Stella; and a son, Michael Jr.

2022–present: "Holdin' On", ''The Voice''

In 2022, Huntley independently released his debut single, "Holdin' On". In 2023, Huntley competed in the 24th season of '' The Voice''. In the blind auditions, he sang "

She Talks to Angels "She Talks to Angels" is a song by American rock band the Black Crowes. It is the eighth track on their first album, '' Shake Your Money Maker'' (1990), and was the fourth single released from the album in 1991. The song reached number 30 on the ...

" by

Black Crowes Black is a color which results from the absence or complete Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of visible spectrum, visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or fi ...

. The season's four coaches, John Legend,

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

, and

Reba McEntire Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955), or simply Reba, is an American country music singer and actress. Dubbed " the Queen of Country", she has sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Since the 1970s, McEntire has placed over 100 single ...

turned their chairs for him. Before choosing his coach, Huntley brought his daughter, Stella, on stage where it was then revealed that she would pick his coach. She chose Team Niall, making Huntley a part of Horan's team. Huntley went on to win the season on December 19, 2023, giving his coach Niall Horan his second consecutive win, after his contestant in

season 23 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, Gina Miles, won the season in May 2023. Ultimately, Huntley won US$100,000 and a record deal with

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

, a label owned by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, which was later revoked by

when they released Huntley from his record deal in May 2024. On December 23, 2023, Huntley performed the

National Anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...

at the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

vs. Los Angeles Chargers football game. In early August 2024, Huntley announced that his new single, "Tell Me When It's Over", will be released on August 21, 2024.

Artistry

In an interview with ''

The Free Lance–Star ''The Free Lance–Star'' is the principal daily newspaper distributed throughout Fredericksburg, Virginia, United States, with a circulation area including the city of Fredericksburg and all or parts of the counties of Spotsylvania, Stafford, ...

'' in 2022, Huntley described his genre as "singer-songwriter country, definitely Southern blues rock 'n' roll." Throughout his time on ''The Voice'', Huntley was often compared to the likes of

Chris Stapleton Christopher Alvin Stapleton (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and grew up in Staffordsville, Kentucky. In 2001, Stapleton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to ...

, among others.

Discography

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huntley 1990 births Living people People from Fredericksburg, Virginia Republic Records artists The Voice (franchise) winners The Voice (franchise) contestants