"One of the more distinctive, recent sounds in country music comes from Stephen Wilson Jr., according to our rock critic Ken Tucker. Recently nominated as best new artist by the Country Music Awards, Wilson is a former microbiologist who is also a Golden Gloves boxer, who's also, says Ken, writing some of the most intricate and compelling songs around these days. And he's broken through not with huge record sales, but viral clips on social media."
"STEPHEN WILSON JR: (Singing) Life is a battlefield, and it'll drag you right through hell. Bites like a rattlesnake, the kind that you just don't see on the trail. I miss my father every day. The kind of pain I pray don't fade away. And the ones above guide me down the road. Yeah, grief is only love that's got no place to go. From my great granddad..."
"Stephen Wilson Jr. has a deep, rumbling voice. He delivers his lyrics through a clenched jaw as if he almost regrets having to articulate his feelings. It's a self-conscious style, at once forceful and diffident, which only makes his music that much more intimate. He's created a sound in which an increasingly large number of listeners find comfort and strength."
Stephen Wilson Jr. is a former microbiologist and Golden Gloves boxer who has emerged as a distinctive voice in country music. He sings in a deep, rumbling voice, delivering lyrics through a clenched jaw that creates an intimate, forceful yet diffident style. His songs combine intricate, compelling songwriting with themes of grief, love, and resilience, exemplified by "Grief Is Only Love" and his rendition of "Stand By Me." Wilson gained prominence not through large record sales but through viral clips on social media and has received recognition such as a Country Music Awards best new artist nomination.
#country-music #stephen-wilson-jr #viral-social-media #microbiologist-background #golden-gloves-boxing
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