In 2022, butter-smooth baritone Will Wheaton marked 30 years since he won an MCA record deal by competing in Dick Clark’s USA Music Challenge. Only that deal didn’t go through. On the day he closed on his first home in LA, the news broke that they’d switched priorities on his David Foster-produced album. So what’d Will do? Well, what Will had always done: took it in stride and allowed the next opportunity to flow into his life- which happened to surface later that night in the form of a sold-out arena tour of Japan with his friend, J-Pop legend Namie Amuro (aka, the Janet Jackson of Japan). To sing in Japanese, Wheaton drew on his years of multilingual operatic training, which subsequently drew on his Gospel upbringing, which drew upon singing hymns and hits back-and-forth with his mother growing up. In other words, each note Will Wheaton sings is actually opening into his entire life’s work as a genre-crossing vocal craftsman and master crooner. That’s probably why we’re so melted by the richness of his jacuzzi of a voice. And why he’s shared the stage with acts such as Michael Bolton, Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, and Rod Stewart.
In the years since MCA fell through, Wheaton has not only performed alongside the voices of our generation but has also independently released two top-class R&B albums, Consenting Adultz and Old School Soul, while building—wait for it—a Los Angeles-based real estate dynasty. Indeed, recent years have marked the marriage of life and work: he’s known around town for “Selling Los Angeles One Note At A Time”.
So whether you find a home in his listings or his lyrics, keep your eyes and ears open for unparalleled baby-making music from this booming baritone broker.
Will Wheaton’s new single “Lady in My Life” finds him not just covering the classic by Michael Jackson, but also reprising and paying homage to the song that won him the USA Music Challenge in 1992. In a refreshing arrangement by Deyon Dobson and Wheaton, the hit is fleshed out with live strings, grooving bass, and neon keys, setting the stage for Wheaton to absolutely own the song an octave below the King of Pop’s original. From his desirous growls to his pleading falsettos, Wheaton glows with pure seduction. When you queue him up on your next special night in, don’t be surprised if the lights automatically lower and candles flicker on. You’re in Will Wheaton’s world now.
While the song commemorates Wheaton’s 30-year journey since the competition, the music video for “Lady In My Life” serves as the wedding ceremony between his dual lives in music and real estate. We find Wheaton in both his elements, singing and swinging through the song with his casual exuberance while he welcomes curious clients into an open house. With Wheaton’s characteristic humor, the video exudes an earnest joy of a life reunited. This is what self-actualization looks like, people: not to say “I’m a singer” or “I’m a real estate broker” but “I’m all of the above and more and damn good at all of it”. Look no further for inspiration, warmth, and a genuine groove. That’s just what you get when Will Wheaton walks in.
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