16-Year-Old ‘Voice’ Champion Sawyer Fredericks Sings His Way Into History With ‘Simple Man’
on Sep 15, 2016 • Updated Jan 25, 2023
In May 2015, 16-year-old Sawyer Fredericks made history when he won Season 8 of the television competition series The Voice. Fredericks’ win made him the youngest contestant to win the show, along with country singer Danielle Bradbery of Season 4, who was also 16 when she won.
While on The Voice, Fredericks broke a show record at the time when he managed to see nine of his singles chart in the top ten on iTunes in two straight weeks. Needless to say, Fredericks was a fan-favorite from the start, which is why it really came as no surprise when he won the show.
Fredericks further secured his position as a frontrunner in the competition when he performed a folksy cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic song, “Simple Man.” His gritty, soulful voice was the perfect fit for the song, and added to the intensity of its message.
In fact, coach Adam Levine praised Fredericks for the amount of power he poured into his performance. He told him there was something about his voice and his stage presence that allowed him to do what he did on the stage with “Simple Man.”
“You cannot teach somebody what you have, which is just the ability to translate any song into something powerful,” Levine told him.
Fredericks had the crowd hooked on his every word, and the votes came pouring in. He made his way into the Top 6 thanks to that performance, and eventually won the whole thing. Once you watch him sing “Simple Man” below, you’ll know exactly why.
This young man has one promising career ahead of him, don’t you agree?
