‘The Voice’ alum Ryan Whyte Maloney passes away at 44
Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of suicide.
Ryan Whyte Maloney, who was part of the sixth season of The Voice, has died. He was 44 years old.
Clark County Coroner in Las Vegas confirmed his passing to PEOPLE Magazine on Jan. 28. He was said to have died by suicide, listing a gunshot wound to his head as the cause of his death.
The Voice alum shared a video of him in a bar in his Instagram stories just hours before he passed away.
"Nine fine Irishmen for a private party tonight, and we will be rocking," he wrote in his post, making a rock hand gesture.
Maloney has been passionate about music when he was young, having been able to play guitar, violin, cello, and drums at age 9, according to his website’s bio page.
He later formed a band called Indulge. After years of touring and performing at festivals and music shows in the US, he decided to go solo to focus on songwriting.
From 2010 to 2013, he toured around the US to promote his album, Where I’ve Been, which was produced by Sean O'Dwyer—who also worked with Pink Floyd, Blink 182, and The Black Crowes, among others.
In 2014, he joined the blind auditions on the sixth season of The Voice and performed Lights by Journey, earning four chair turns. He eventually landed on Blake Shelton’s team and was among the Top 5 finalists.
From there, he continued his music career. He appeared on billboards in Las Vegas, performed in corporate events, and became featured on a magazine cover.
He also shared the stage with big names in the industry, including Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Shakira, Usher, Adam Levine, Alabama, One Republic, Coldplay, Robin Thicke, and Ed Sheeran, among others.
Some of his original songs include Hillbilly, Michigan Moonlight, Don’t put me in a Box, and Love with Nowhere to Go.
If you think you, your friend, or your family member is considering self-harm or suicide, you may call the National Mental Health Crisis Hotline at 1553 (Luzon-wide, landline toll-free), 0966-351-4518 or 0917-899-USAP (8727) for Globe/TM users, or 0919-057-1553 for Smart users.
