Steven McMorran, Songwriter for Celine Dion, Tim McGraw, Jimmie Allen and More, Gets Spot on ‘The Voice’

Nashville Songwriter Steven McMorran remembered giving a demo of a song he had written to Michael Bolton, who was drawn to the vocals he heard. Bolton called him out and said “that voice.”

Videos by American Songwriter

McMorran, 40, who has written songs for everyone from Tim McGraw, Celine Dion, Joe Cocker, Michael Bolton, Jimmie Allen, and dozens of other artists over the past 17 years, auditioned on The Voice on Oct. 10 with an unlikely song choice: “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman.

Prior to his Voice audition, Bolton, whose 2009 piano ballad, “What You’re Doing To Me,” was co-written by McMorran, sent the singer and songwriter a message of encouragement before his performance.

Singing through the musical show tune, the Little Rock, Arkansas native made coach Camila Cabello turn her chair considering that most of the coaches’ teams were nearly complete. Impressed by his “bold” song choice and vocal range, Cabello even said she heard a little Andrea Bocelli in McMorran’s voice.

Steven McMorran (Photo: Dave Bjerke/NBC)

Always connected to the lyrics, in his pre-audition interview, McMorran said he chose to sing “Never Enough”—written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul for the 2017 musical film—because of the verse Without you / All the shine of a thousand spotlights / All the stars we steal from the night sky / Will never be enough and its connection to how he felt about his wife and two young sons.

“It’s an opportunity for me to do what I do best for them,” said McMorran, whose credits include “Still on The Line,” off Tim McGraw’s No. 1 album Sundown Heaven Town in 2014, along with earlier cuts like his co-write of Celine Dion’s 2007 song “This Time.”

Though McMorran has worked with pop, country, and rock artists, when Cabello asked what kind of music he wanted to make, he said “Whatever makes people feel something.”

Photo: Tina Thorpe/NBC

Leave a Reply

Top 10 Alanis Morissette Songs That Deserve a Revisit