Interview: THE VOICE's Luke Wade Sings for the Cure, and Himself

The operative color for many in the fall is pink, and this is no exception as the Susan G. Komen Foundation teams up with the National Football League for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In addition to the visual of uniforms, shoes and other gear in hot pink, outreach takes center stage with pregame and halftime activities during the month of October.

This weekend fans of The Voice will see a pair of familiar faces take the stage at the half of the Denver Broncos/Minnesota Vikings matchup on Sunday, October 4th: Luke Wade (Season 7) and Mia Z (Season 8) have recorded and released a cover of Ashford & Simpson's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough." All iTunes proceeds on sales of the single will benefit Susan G. Komen.

Wade's being tabbed for the recording came through the TCU branch of the foundation. "I had been volunteering at Cook Children's Hospital (in Ft. Worth)," the Dublin, Texas native explains. "I was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award at the Health Care Heroes Banquet, and I started to talk with Ann Loudon (head of TCU's Frogs For the Cure program and herself a breast cancer survivor)."

The talks elevated for the singer/songwriter, who already had a track record behind him. A series of albums and tours, including 2014's The River with his current band, No Civilians proved Wade a seasoned veteran. His Top 8 showing in last year's Voice should have come as no surprise.

As for tackling an R&B classic, Wade recalls, "We were on the hunt for the right female counterpart. A lot of names were tossed around, a lot of conversations were had, but ultimately when you're doing an iconic song like this it's very important to have distinctive voices to separate the song from the original."

The sixteen-year-old Pittsburgh native shone on Season 8 of The Voice, but Wade had not met her. "I saw her on television like everybody else," Wade says. "She's got a very distinct style, a great sense of who she is and what she does. An incredible range."

And the response? "You never know about that," Wade replies, "(but) it's been great. You've heard it before, so you have to bring something else to it. People want the track, and we're really glad we did this. We did a short tour through the northeast, doing a lot of games, races and appearances. We've got a team that's pushing really hard to get the song into people's hands and raise awareness."

This awareness has helped Wade make a much wider audience aware for himself. He speaks frankly and with confidence, but not arrogance about a childhood that set some intriguing roadblocks before him. "I have kind of what I would think is an unusual story," Wade says. "I had some health problems as a kid. I got shot in the eye with a paintball, lost vision in one of my eyes. As a kid, it's interesting how something like that affects you. It made me very serious, and very competitive with myself in particular. Like I had something to prove to everybody, because I was one eye short of being a kid. It's not a great mindset, but it's tough not to think that way when you're young.

'It was great motivation," Wade admits, but that got him into further issues. "I pushed myself too hard, and had a severe heatstroke that led to amnesia and some brain damage. I had a lot of things to try and contend with, and communicate."

Wade speaks of these problems without hesitation, and the clear message they are in his past. He began writing before the music, and there were plenty of instruments in the family home. "I had stuff to say before I knew how to sing," Wade says. "So the words came first, guitar came second, melodies came third and then I had to figure out how to sing. I wasn't a good singer, and I just kind of failed my way forward for about ten years to the point where I would call myself a decent singer."

As for the talent search that brought him to The Voice, Wade provides an insight: "McNulty Casting is the casting company for The Voice. They're very serious about their purpose of finding talent to show to the world. They use every avenue at their disposal. They spend hours and hours scouring the Internet for new talent. They don't care if you have 100 million views or 500 views; they look at the talent for what it is.

'The show is about half open call, and about half people the casting agency finds," Wade continues, and he had to adapt. "For me, my performance style requires that I internalize a song completely. That was really a challenge to sing, and I would have a song for three, four, five days and go out and sing it. It was very unnerving to me. There was one particular performance where there was a miscommunication between the band and myself and it kind of unraveled in front of millions of people. It was a lot bigger deal to me than to (viewers)."

Being recognized brought a whole new set of challenges. 'There's a whole lot to be learned from it," Wade says, "and to cope with it when things happen. It really depends on your profile, and who you are and what you want out of it and what you bring with you into the situation. There are people it's not a good situation for, because they're just not emotionally (ready). They can handle it, they can go out and perform, but they're not ready to accept the fact that it isn't the be-all and end-all of existence."

Wade had to draw his own line. "My challenge," he says, "was to accept what I could and could not control coming off the show. My perception of myself is as a recording artist, musician and songwriter, and as someone who has a very specific thing that they do. Really, my goals haven't changed; it's just to get better every day and connect with people better."

The takeaway? "You make you an artist," Wade declares. "You have to accept that, enjoy what the show's given you...use it as a resource for the other thing, but they're separate. You as an artist, you as a television personality? Two different things. Don't think that you're too good for people who just know you from the show. That's a thing that you've earned for yourself, accept it, do what you can, nurture the other thing."

Wade and No Civilians are finishing the final shows of The River tour. Plans are to start a fan-funding campaign for the next album. "I've written 30-some-odd songs this year," he says, "and we'll boil it down to just the best group. The most important thing is the songs, the message...we're working with a couple of producers, just trying to hone in on something very poignant, very relevant and very me. I love the challenge of grabbing people and holding them."

(Luke will also perform with his band and Mia Z on the 11th, for "Pink Out Day" at AT&T Stadium before the Dallas Cowboys/New England Patriots game.)

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Photo credit: TCU Frogs for the Cure Komen

Photos courtesy of NBC/THE VOICE