“I just want to bring peace through song,” said former “The Voice” contestant Matthew Schuler as he performed for UW-Whitewater students.
Schuler made it to the top six contestants on “The Voice” in 2013. On April 4 of this year, he sang his favorite songs from the show, as well as some of his original works, in the Down Under of the UC.
The first song of the night was Schuler’s blind audition for the show, “Cough Syrup” by Young the Giant. His performance earned him all four chairs turning, but he chose Christina Aguilera to be his mentor.
“Take Me As I Am” was the second song Schuler performed. This one is an original about accepting oneself for who they are.
The third song he performed was “My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark” by Fall Out Boy. Schuler performed this song for the battle part of the show against contestant Jacob Poole. He did a slower, soulful rendition of the song, which allowed for Schuler’s vocal talents to really shine.
“Secret Things” was performed next. Schuler wrote this song about the beauty of knowing everything about your partner, even the odd things about yourself.
“When you find someone that can accept the weird things, that’s how you know you found the one,” said Schuler.
Next was “Cosmic Love” by Florence and the Machine, the knockout round song against contestant Will Champlin.
The sixth song of the set was “Created For,” which was written for his wife, whom he married recently.
“Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus was the song Schuler sang for the live playoffs segment of “The Voice.” Schuler recounted his experience of singing this song at the height of Cyrus’s controversy.
“I was like, I don’t know what’s going to happen, I’m just going to sing,” said Schuler lightheartedly.
Up next was another original by Schuler titled “We Rule the Night.” This was his first music video, which featured him and the other cast of the video running through the streets of his hometown of Philadelphia.
“Story of My Life” by One Direction was one of the last songs Schuler performed on “The Voice.” This song was a crowd favorite in the Down Under, earning lots of applause from students.
Schuler wrote “This Morning,” his most recent single, about taking a look back at his time on the show and “being able to know who I am outside of ‘The Voice.”’ Schuler stated that he is grateful for his time on the show because of the opportunities he now has, but he still needs to discover who he is separately.
The last song of the night was what earned Schuler the number 40 spot on the Billboard Top 100. “Hallelujah,” originally by Lenard Cohen, reminds Schuler that “we’re all human, we all make mistakes, we all deserve grace.”
What’s next for the Down Under? Comedian AJ Wilkerson will perform at 7 p.m., April 11. This event is free with Hawkcard for all UWW students.
