Nolan Neal, an America’s Got Talent and The Voice alum has died at age 41.
Nolan, who lived and worked in Nashville, passed away Monday according to the medical examiner . His cousin Dylan Seals tells TMZ he was found dead in his apartment.
No official cause of death has been determined, but the singer has talked openly about his struggles with substance abuse.
TMZ updated their story to say that law enforcement officials say Neal’s roommate called them after discovering his body in a bedroom. Officers say on the desk next to Neal’s bed was a guitar pick that “appeared to contain a powder residue” and note that Neal allegedly struggled with substance abuse. Investigators are still waiting on the full results from the singer’s autopsy.
The singer-songwriter first appeared on The Voice season 11 in 2016. He landed on Team Adam Levine before leaving the competition at the Knockouts. He still left his mark on that season by co-writing “Pick Any Small Town” the original song by finalist Josh Gallagher. He also co-wrote with season 10 runner-up Adam Wakefield, who released their “Blame it On Me” single in 2017.
Nolan auditioned for The Voice with a cover of Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” that garnered a 4-chair turn. He previously auditioned in season 10. Adam said then if he came back with a different song, they could win the show together.
Four years later, in 2020, Nolan auditioned for America’s Got Talent with an original song titled “Lost.” During his audition, Nolan was frank about his substance abuse problems. At 26, Nolan’s father, also a musician, took his own life. After signing a major record deal, Nolan began partying and became unmanageable. He lost his deal. “Lost” was the first song he wrote after leaving rehab.
For his quarterfinal final performance for the live shows, Nolan performed another original, “Send Me a Butterfly.” Voters eliminated him at this point.
According to his Facebook page, Nolan performed at the Hotel Indigo in Nashville on July 15. He was scheduled to play a gig in Little Rock, Arkansas on July 29. He stayed active on social media posting videos of covers and a series called “Keeping it Real” on Youtube. He also posted videos to Instagram and Tik Tok.
