“Don’t just wish on a star; be a star”   Tanner Massey
It is always exciting to introduce new talent to Torchlight Talent and 11-year-old Tanner is both brand new and amazingly talented! Tanner is a natural performer with a tangible passion for his art.
The Texas-born Oklahoma boy lives to sing! Tanner tells us on his YouTube channel:
“I love just about everything about singing. There are very few things about singing that I dislike right now!â€
Tanner’s father told me the story of how he realised his son had real talent. They first noticed his amazing voice while he was singing along to a computer game! Tanner would always be singing – any time any place – and eventually they decided it was time to invest in voice lessons. After much searching, they found a singing teacher who was able to push Tanner in the right direction and, to hear him sing now, it would be easy to think that Tanner had been singing competitively all his life. Knowing that it has only been a matter of months suggests to me that there is a very exciting future ahead for Tanner – both vocally and for his music career.
Tanner has been heavily influenced by the voice and music of Bruno Mars and shares some of that highlyÂ
successful singer’s easy tone and charming personality. However, Tanner also has a powerful voice with incredible dynamic potential and he hinted to me that there might be some power-ballad performances on the horizon. Tanner loves to sing and his enthusiasm comes across clearly in his performing. Not all recording artists are also able to hold an audience but, as well as having a naturally expressive voice, Tanner has a talent for communicating with crowds and individuals in a way that is very rare for one so young. Watch him performing live – click here:Â
It may be surprising to hear that Tanner has struggled considerably with nerves to the extent that they would choke him up and prevent him from singing to his full potential. In the beginning, he flat out refused to sing in public and it took two months to convince him that he had a talent not to be wasted. Gradually, Tanner has been working to overcome these nerves and to hear him perform now you would think he was born on the stage! Much of this progress has been due to the encouragement he receives from his fans. In his own words:
“I love support! I love people that cheer other people on and I love every single person right now!â€
For a young artist in Tanner’s position at such an early stage of his career, a little encouragement will go a very long way. If you want to support youth music and make an enthusiastic 11-year-old smile, make sure you follow Tanner on whatever social media you use and let him know that you are behind him in his musical adventure:
As usual, I asked Tanner what advice he would give to other young people trying to achieve their musical dreams. He gave me a fantastic quote:
“Don’t just wish on a star; be a star!â€
Tanner would like to thank Ray Sams and family (including his daughter, vocal artist Taylor Renee), Kevin and Laura Tatum (Heartland Opry) and ‘the many, many wonderful people on Twitter’ who have supported him in his journey. Tanner would especially like to thank his dad for driving to his gigs and always having his back.
“Thank you all (including Torchlight Talent) for being wonderful by getting Tanner’s name out to people.  We appreciate all you do.† Tanner’s management
