Victor D. Infante |Telegram & Gazette

There was every reason to believe that 2020 would be a big year for Ricky Duran. A onetime fixture of the Worcester music scene who grew up in Grafton, Duran garnered attention with his spectacular journey on the televised singing competitionThe Voice, where he placed second overall. In the conventional wisdom of the music industry, that's often as good as winning: You get all the PR benefits of the win, with none of the contractual entanglements. Duran had talent, visibility and freedom, and was well-poised for a success.

Then COVID-19 hit the pause button on everything, but he hasn't been idle during the pandemic.

I've been working a lot on all this music behind the scenes since COVID started, said Duran, in a phone call from Los Angeles, where he was working on an EP due out next year. I've been trying to use this time to write as much as possible, record as much as possible.

All of that labor will soon bear fruit, beginning with his first single since his time on The Voice, She Closed Her Eyes, which will be released on Dec. 4 on all platforms. Duran says the single is already available for preorder on Amazon and Apple Music.

I've had a tug of war with some record deals, says Duran, but I've decided to go ahead and release it on my own to start. I feel I owe it to the people who supported me to give them some new music.

He's not just starting with any song, though. He's starting on a deeply personal note: She Closed Her Eyes was written for his late mother, Odette Duran, who died from breast cancer in 2018.

It's a song I wrote about two years ago, says Duran, recounting how he wrote the song shortly after his mother's death. I grabbed my guitar and the lyrics just sort of flowed out.

He says he thinks his fans who call themselves "Duranimals" will appreciate the song's honesty and emotional vulnerability. Those are important to Duran, who says he has been working on staying true to my art and not selling out, not making music for the purpose of pleasing anyone else besides myself and my fans.

Duran's Duranimals have been an enduringly loyal presence online, ever since his blind audition on "The Voice," where his soulful rendition ofLeon Bridges River caused all four judges to turn their chairs for him. Duran chose country star Blake Shelton to be his mentor for the season, and continued to succeed by putting his personal spin on such songs as Ray LaMontagne's "You Are the Best Thing," Tom Petty's "Runnin' Down a Dream," Tom Waits' "Downtown Train" and the Beatles' "Let ItBe."

Still, he's cognizant of the opportunities he's missed during the pandemic, including a sold-out show at The Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts here in Worcester. He says he was looking forward to the show, which was postponed until March 2021, which was kind of a bummer. But now things seem to be moving for him again, at least in the virtual space, if not the real world.

In addition to the single being released Dec. 4, a music video will be released the same day. It was filmed at his mother's old house in Shrewsbury.

In addition, he's set to perform his first full-scale concert since his time on The Voice, which will stream live on Dec. 9.

It's basically my premiere concert, says Duran. It's going to be pro, as opposed to the shows he and other musicians have performed online from their living rooms in recent months. The show will stream live from the Continental Club in Austin, where he lives. He'll be backed in the concert by Jon Deas, who plays piano with Gary Clark Jr.; drummer Mike Braz of Worcester-local favorite bandthe Blue Light Bandits; Dakota Colby on bass; and Billy Blunt on backup guitar.

The concert will be streamed online athttps://boxoffice.mandolin.com/collections/ricky-duran. Tickets are available for $20-$75, with higher prices including a merchandise bundle and a Q&A afterward.

Duran admits it feels good to be getting back to business, even if it'sby necessityin a limited way.

I feel kind of anxious about getting out there, he says, especially after all the publicity I got on 'The Voice.' But it's just like anyone else. We're all in this together. Everybody feels the same. I'm just trying to zone in on my craft and to prepare for the what's next.

Read more here:
A year after 'Voice' success, Ricky Duran is ready to start with new single, 'She Closed Her Eyes' - Worcester Telegram