Former America’s Got Talent and The Voice star Nolan Neal has died at the age of 41.
Nolan first appeared on Season 15 of AGT where he sang his original song Lost for his audition and performed another original, Send Me a Butterfly, in the quarterfinals.
Nolan Neal wowed the judges on The Voice Season 10 when he sang Tiny Dancer and continued to grow in popularity after he made it to the knockout round on Adam Levine’s team.
At this time, his cause of death is unknown.
TMZ reports that he was discovered by his roommate and the police believe there may be a “powder residue” on a guitar pick found near his bed.
Nolan has been very open about his struggles with addiction in the past, having gone to rehab in 2010 but finding himself in active addiction again later on.
In an interview with WBIR, he discussed joining the rock band Hinder and his desire to be “normal” when he was with the band.
Nolan Neal on joining Hinder and handling addiction
When he “got clean” in 2010, Nolan was ready for a new start. He revealed that he went to rehab first on May 15 and was able to “stay clean.”
However, he later joined the popular rock band Hinder.
He added, “They were all about drinking and partying. This is not their fault. I had decided I wanted to drink like a normal person. I remember trying to be normal and fitting in. I remember going to a bar and ordering a drink. I tried to hide it. I remember pretending to be normal. I was just lying to myself telling myself that I could control it.”
He added that during his time on The Voice, he was still struggling with his addiction and that he “kind of lost my way on The Voice and continued drinking. You can see it. I can see it.”
Nolan also revealed he had gone back and forth between recovery and active addiction. When he spoke to WBIR in July 2020, he appeared to be in a state of recovery.
He told the outlet, “What’s different this time? I found happiness by helping others in recovery. I found a way to be happy without the things I thought made me happy before.”
However, addiction was not his only struggle. Nolan spoke of his dad’s passing on America’s Got Talent and admitted that it was hard for him to talk about and then perform at times.
Nolan Neal discussed the death of his father on America’s Got Talent
When he appeared on AGT, Nolan performed a song relating to his father.
He said, “My dad, he was a good guy, but he was just unwell. I felt like my dad loved me, but when it happened, I really felt like I didn’t matter that much. I was like, ‘Oh, I wasn’t important enough for him to stick around.’ I blamed myself, for sure.”
He continued, “The hook of this song is ‘Lost for the last time.’ It’s about someone who thinks that they don’t deserve anything because of the things they’ve done. I hope that it connects with you all, that will be the real win for me.”
In 2020, he admitted to WBIR that talking about his father on the show “opened up scars, wounds.” However, “I swore I wouldn’t choke up.”
America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC. The Voice Season 22 premieres Monday, September 19 at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.