Lane Pittman Only Auditioned For 'The Voice' Because His Mates Dared Him To

The first time many of Lane Pittman’s fans heard or saw him was on The Voice.

In 2022, the then-16-year-old auditioned for The Voice Australia with a cover of Luke Combs’ Even Though I’m Leaving. Throughout the season—in which he reached the semi-finals to be the sole country artist on Keith Urban’s team—Pittman sang a variety of songs.

His final performance on The Voice stage was a moody take on Cat Stevens’ Father And Son. He also put his own spin on Olivia Rodrigo’s driver’s license during ‘The Callbacks’ and Miley Cyrus and Stevie Nicks’ Edge Of Midnight with Freddie Bailey during ‘The Battles’.

Since then, Pittman’s career has gone from strength to strength, with the Tamworth-based singer opening for Luke Combs on his 2023 Australian tour and his self-titled debut EP landing at #1 on the Australian Country Albums Chart, #8 on the Australian Albums Chart, and #14 on the ARIA Country Albums Chart, last year.

However, his career might have had a very different trajectory if he hadn’t auditioned for The Voice—a decision he made after being dared by a mate.

In a recent cover story interview with The Music, Pittman revealed that he only auditioned for The Voice because he was dared to.

He was in high school at the time—Pittman has recently turned 18—and remembers the moment clearly. “I was sitting in geography class when my mates asked if The Voice applications had opened,” Pittman said. “Instead of doing my work, I looked it up, and they dared me to apply. So, I did.”

After joining Keith Urban’s team, Pittman quickly won over audiences. He described the filming process as "crazy," with long stretches spent cooped up in a hotel room with little to do.

“I could only watch so much The Bold And The Beautiful,” he laughed. While he didn’t win, the experience gave Pittman valuable exposure and the time to find his true voice as an artist. “It was a melting pot of influences and learning,” he confirmed.

This month, Pittman is opening for Luke Combs on the American hitmaker’s stadium tour of Australia—the first country artist to headline stadiums Down Under.

Pittman admitted that he’s “crapping his pants” about playing in stadiums, but keeping grounded with the following mindset: “We’re taking the approach that it’s the same office, just a different view. We’ve got one job: to entertain. We want people to walk in not knowing who we are and walk out thinking, ‘That Lane Pittman guy is great. Next time he’s in town, I’m going to see him.’”