William Christopher Champlin (born April 24, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his appearance on Season 5 of the NBC singing competition The Voice as part of Adam Levine's team. He finished in third place behind Jacquie Lee, the runner-up, and Tessanne Chin, the winner of the season.

Career

Before his participation on The Voice, Champlin reached some success as a songwriter. He collaborated with Michael Caruso and provided backing vocals for Ace Young's self-titled album, and also played piano on Michael Jackson's posthumous compilation album Michael, on the song "(I Like) The Way You Love Me". He was nominated in the Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album category, for co-writing "Ordinary Me", which appears on Heather Headley's album Audience of One. Audience of One was awarded the 2010 Grammy in its category.

Champlin contributed to the 2013 album "Sacred Ground" released by California Transit Authority, a band created by founding Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine. He sang lead vocals on three tracks: "Strike," which he co-wrote, "Staring at the Sun," and the album's titular track. He also provided background vocals on several other songs on the album. His father, former Chicago member and Sons of Champlin frontman Bill Champlin, also appears on the album.

He is now the lead singer of the gritty rock band Valley of Wolves. They made their debut in 2018 with the release of the Album 'Out for Blood'. In 2019 they released 'Take it All' [citation needed] and in 2021 'Outlaws' was released.

The Voice

On the fourth episode of the Blind Auditions broadcast on October 1, 2013, he performed Gavin DeGraw's song "Not Over You." Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, and Blake Shelton turned their chairs but he opted to join Adam Levine.

In the Battle Rounds, Wolpert won, and Champlin was stolen by Aguilera. In the Knockout Rounds, Schuler won, and Champlin was then stolen back from Aguilera by Levine.

– Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

StageSongOriginal ArtistDateOrderResult
Blind Audition"Not Over You"Gavin DeGrawOctober 1, 20134.1Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, and Blake Shelton turned Joined Team Adam
Battle Rounds"Radioactive" (vs. James Wolpert)Imagine DragonsOctober 21, 20139.6Defeated Stolen by Christina Aguilera
Knockout Rounds"When I Was Your Man" (vs. Matthew Schuler)Bruno MarsOctober 29, 201312.8Defeated Stolen by Adam Levine
Live Playoffs"Secrets"OneRepublicNovember 4, 201313.7Saved by Coach
Live Top 12"Demons"Imagine DragonsNovember 11, 201316.12Saved by Public Vote
Live Top 10"Love Me Again"John NewmanNovember 18, 201318.3Saved by Public Vote
Live Top 8"At Last"Glenn Miller and his orchestra, with vocals by Ray Eberle and Pat FridayNovember 25, 201320.6Saved by Public Vote
Live Top 6"A Change Is Gonna Come"Sam CookeDecember 2, 201322.4Saved by Public Vote
"Hey Brother"Avicii22.10
Live Top 5 (Semi-finals)"Carry On"FunDecember 9, 201324.2Saved by Public Vote
Live Finale"Not Over You"Gavin DeGrawDecember 16, 201326.2Third place
"Tiny Dancer" (with Adam Levine)Elton John26.6
"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You"Bryan Adams26.8

Personal life

Champlin was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is the youngest son of Bill Champlin, former member of Chicago, and Tamara Champlin. He graduated from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. He has one daughter, Harper.

Discography

Studio albums

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
US
Will ChamplinRelease: January 10, 2008 Label: Goldmine Records Formats: Digital download
Borrowing TroubleRelease: June 21, 2014 Label: Independent Formats: CD, digital download

Singles

TitleYearPeak chart positionsAlbum
USCAN
"Last Man Standing"2014Borrowing Trouble
"Eye of the Pyramid"
"Picasso in My Pocket"2018Picasso in My Pocket

Guest appearances

TitleYearArtist(s)Album
"Too Far Gone"2019Sound Breakers—N/a

Releases from The Voice

TitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
US
The Complete Season 5 CollectionRelease date: December 17, 2013 Label: Republic Records Formats: Digital download
SingleYearPeak chart positions
USCAN
"At Last"20138373
"Carry On"97
"—" denotes items which failed to chart.

External links