By the time soul singer Ryan Shaw hit the stage of “America’s Got Talent” he had already earned three Grammy nominations. In addition he played the role of the indomitable Stevie Wonder on Broadway in Motown: The Musical based on the life of Berry Gordy . Motown: The Musical is scheduled to return to Broadway in the summer of 2016.
In his initial audition for the judges, Shaw belted out a powerful rendering of the Beatles “Yesterday” prompting judge’s Howard Stern and Heidi Klum to emphatically send him on to the next round. Shaw, who is a native of Decatur, Georgia, has been singing since the age of 5. As the son of a Pentecostal Minister, Shaw did not begin singing pop music until he left home and began working at the now closed Motown Café in New York City. His star continued to rise as he toured with Tyler Perry’s I Know I’ve Been Changed.
After touring with the play, Shaw joined doo-wop group the Fabulous Soul Shakers. His first album, “This is Ryan Shaw”, for Columbia, earned him a 2008 Grammy nomination for “I Am Your Man.” In 2011 Shaw received another Grammy nomination for “In Between,” and in 2014 received his third for “Yesterday”. Shaw also snagged an audition with Berry Gordy and was then cast as Stevie Wonder. Shaw says of playing that iconic role “Initially it was very frightening because as an up and coming artist, I had the fear of failing him in some way. I had come to terms that I will never be Stevie and so my challenge became not how to imitate him, but rather how to embody him. It took pressure off and gave me a sense of freedom to be Stevie to each audience every night. It is a brilliant honor each and every time.”
On his second performance for “America’s Got Talent”, Shaw performed Bonnie Rait’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me”. Unfortunately, the judges found his performance less than stellar and he did not advance to the quarterfinals. Fans on Twitter strongly disagreed with the judge’s ruling and voiced their support of the charismatic singer.
@thisisRyanShaw Saw your performance on #AGT & your voice is amazing! Will be keeping my eye on you…something good is coming your way!!!
— FeliciaRenee™ (@TheFeliciaRenee) July 25, 2015
.@thisisRyanShaw The choir was good… but man you are on a whole other level. #AGT judges got this one wrong 😠 @howiemandel @howerdstern
— Brian Jackson (@brianleejackson) July 24, 2015
@thisisRyanShaw I hope you stay encouraged. Your voice is amazing. I am downloading your albums as we speak! #shouldvewentthrough
— Chef Wyze (@WyzeWordz) July 22, 2015
Shaw took the time out to reply to many of the fans on Twitter with grace and humility.
Thanks for the love #AGT #JudgeCuts #teamryanshaw https://t.co/KTE8guUPAL
— Ryan Shaw (@thisisRyanShaw) July 23, 2015
This made me smile. I believe music should move people and that why I do it. Thanks for the love #AGT #JudgeCuts https://t.co/QkkLU5wQP8
— Ryan Shaw (@thisisRyanShaw) July 22, 2015
There is no doubt that appearing on the show further grew Shaw’s fan base and we are quite sure that we haven’t heard the last from this talented singer.
