"Without You" by Tyler Ward ft. Alyson Stoner, Tuesday, November 15, 2021

In 2012, Tyler Ward released Hello. Love. Heartbreak, an EP that would shift his music back to originals rather than covers. Before YouTube, the singer-songwriter struggled to find a following, playing local gigs and recording his music at home, practicing his production on himself. He had uploaded covers of popular songs, but didn't get a following until he had heard that famous singers were going to record a new version of "We Are the World." So before the new version of 'We Are the World" was uploaded to YouTube, Ward covered the song, and for a short time, his version was the first video that appeared when viewers searched for the song! Viewers then started subscribing to Tyler's YouTube channel, discovering his cover songs, and today the singer has 2 million subscribers.

I COULD HEAR MY SONG PLAYING ON THE RADIO. Thanks to YouTube and Patreon, Tyler Ward has built a successful YouTube music model. Like fellow YouTubers Kurt Hugo Schneider, Sam Tsui, and Boyce Avenue, Ward has done world tours. The YouTube musicians formed a community, often collaborating in each other's songs. "Without You" features Disney Channel actress-turned singer-songwriter Alyson Stoner, offering harmonies on the track. When Tyler started releasing mostly original music, I wasn't as interested in him. His 2007 record Vol. 1 was an example of him experimenting with genre--rock, pop, storytelling, but it took him a while to get into the groove of writing music as a pop singer. However, from time to time I find myself listening to a song or two of his. In May, I talked about his 2017 song "Teenage Summer." Today's song has beautiful harmonies together with Alyson. "Without You" was released in 2014 and in 2018, Ward released a 24-track compilation of his covers and originals in a record called Covers & Co-writes, featuring songs by Adele, Taylor Swift, Drake, and others, and collaborations with featuring artists like Tiffany Alvord, Chris Collins, Madilyn, and others.

FACE ON THE COVER OF TIME TIME MAGAZINE. In a performance of "Without You," Ward says that the song is about a special person, whether a parent, sibling, lover, or friend. Becoming famous and losing the ones you love isn't worth the fame. On the Podcast Tommy2.net, Ward talks about how he felt that he mishandled his early fame, drinking too much and trying to fill the void with money and girls. He wanted to quit music until he "had a conversation with the maker of the universe" and found a new purpose in his music. Since that time, Ward has become evangelistic at times on social media, talking about a pornography addiction and sharing Bible verses. He has also covered several worship songs. Whatever happened during this dark time or after, the Reddit has a discussion about this. I hope that allegations of YouTuber and former collaborator Alex G are false. I hope that Tyler Ward has truly found a reason to make music, and I hope that he can be satisfied in his faith. However, it is disturbing how many people fall back on Christianity, turning to God to ease their consciences and never having to confess their sins to their fellow man, woman, or person. It makes me think of when Alec in Tess of the d'Urbervilles comes back as a minister, downplaying that he raped her and telling her that she just needs to believe in God. No, I'm not personally calling out Tyler Ward, but please religious people, let's do better. 


  


 

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