Valley Chats with Former “The Voice” Contestant Matthew Schuler

Matthew Schuler was a season five contestant on The Voice and even though he didn’t win it all, he still made show history.

If you have yet to see Matt’s blind audition, please do yourself a favor and listen to his beautiful Young the Giant cover. He didn’t even have to sing for ten seconds before all four coaches knew they wanted him and turned their chairs around, making his audition the fastest four-chair turn in The Voice history. “I didn’t see it happen—I opened my eyes and saw it happened,” says Schuler.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Matt during some of his free time while he was visiting Penn State. The charismatic person you saw on The Voice is the exact same person we got to meet.

What would your life be like if you didn’t have any musical talent?

It would be a lot different. I would probably just be like my dad. My dad’s the man. He works super hard.

What were you doing before The Voice?

I was a student at West Chester. I was really getting involved in Young Life and wanted to become leader. I played rugby and studied business. It was really cool—I loved it.

If you weren’t on the past season, who would you have wanted to win?

I still would have voted for Jacquie.

Why did you choose Christina Aguilera as your coach?

Why did I go with Christina? I do think it was a lot of me going in the moment but behind the scenes, the people you don’t see on the show—one of the executive producer—came up to me. She was like, ‘They’re all gonna love you, who are you gonna chose?’ I was like, ‘Adam or CeeLo,’ and she was like, ‘No, you go up there and you really listen to what they have to say. You have to go through three rounds before America chooses you. You gotta pick a coach that’s gonna believe in you and love you and fight for you.’ Then, when I was up there, I felt like Christina had a lot of passion. She came up to me and hugged me…she smells awesome.

How was it making relationships on the show?

It’s weird, I look at everything different. I love making friends. I’m a little too outgoing—it leaves for a lot of embarrassment, a lot of rejection. I didn’t want to look at it as a competition. It wouldn’t be fun. I formed relationships with people on the show. They’re my family.

What was your favorite song to sing?

Hallelujah, Cosmic Love, Cough Syrup—I loved all three. 

And of course, how did it feel to have the number one song on iTunes?

It’s intense. I didn’t have a phone when that happened—didn’t even know, people had to tell me. I lost my phone in one of the transport vans. So, I found out and didn’t even know what to do. There are musicians who never see that ever in their career. I was honored. It was ridiculous.

Photos by Sara Ware