Wendy Moten (born November 22, 1964) is an American jazz singer from Tennessee. Born in Memphis and based in Nashville, Moten has had a successful career in music, including several major-label solo records, some international hit songs, and a second career as a touring musician.[1]
At age 56, she entered the American national talent competition The Voice. She finished as the runner-up on the show, but her career was buoyed by the national exposure.[1] Moten is best known for the single "Come In Out of the Rain", which was a No. 8 hit in the UK in February 1994.[2]
The daughter of a pastor, Moten began singing in a church choir as a child.[1] She attended Overton High School in Memphis and sang in the Overton Choir under the direction of the late Lulah M. Hedgeman.[2] She won a Mid-South Fair singing competition at age 16, and got a job singing at a theme park.[1] She attended Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis)[2] as a music business major at the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music.[3] She was discovered by promo man Dick Williams who heard her as she was singing on a jingle in a Memphis studio.[1] She got her first break singing with Michael Bolton at a benefit concert; after signing with EMI, in 1992 she released her self-titled debut album and opened for Bolton on tour.[2] Moten's biggest hit single was "Come In Out of the Rain", which, although only peaking at #55 in 1993 on the Billboard Hot 100, was a No. 5 adult contemporary hit, and also reached the Top 10 in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 8 in 1994. A follow-up single, "So Close to Love" did not chart in the U.S. but reached No. 35 in the UK Top 40. She had a starring role in an off-Broadway production, "Mama I Want to Sing". Moten also landed a feature song "Whatever You Imagine" in children's movie The Pagemaster starring Macaulay Culkin in 1994.[4] In the late 1990s, with her personal career at a crossroads, she accepted an offer to tour with Julio Iglesias, a working relationship that continued for the next 15 years.[1] She said, "I toured the whole world with him, singing in four languages . . . flying around in private jets and singing in front of massive audiencies."[1]
In 2006, Moten sang back-up vocals on the Soul2Soul II Tour with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. She continued touring with McGraw and Hill from 2005-2018. She contributed backing vocals to Bonnie Tyler's 2013 album Rocks and Honey. She also toured with Martina McBride from 2014-2016 providing background vocals. Moten was a harmony singer for Vince Gill and was a member of his Time Jumpers for several years, but in 2020, Gill took her on tour as a featured vocalist.[5]
Moten said that in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the touring business and live music venues, she found her career to be at a critical juncture.[1] She was not sure that her lucrative work as a backup singer on high-profile tours would be still be in existence.[1] When the chance for The Voice came, Moten said, "Deciding to do The Voice was hard. Because I've been on a certain level for like 30-plus years... and to be in a situation where you are trying to get people to love you and vote for you...it's tough. But decided to take a risk".[1] Moten competed in the 21st season of The Voice and finished as the runner-up of the season.[6] While working on the show, Moten fell over a monitor, fracturing her elbow. She was told at a Burbank hospital that it would require surgery, but she was determined to remain on the show for 3 more episodes and then had surgery to repair the fracture with titanium plates.[1] As of 2022, Moten is assembling a professional team to help re-launch her solo career following the surge in her media exposure on the show.[1]