Tarrus Riley

**Tarrus Riley** is a contestant on Season 2 of *XVoice*. He was a part of Team James, and was eliminated in the Knockout Rounds. Xboy brought Tarrus back as his wildcard for the Live Playoffs, to where he was eliminated again.

## Background

Tarrus Riley is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and member of the Rastafari movement. Riley was born in Bronx, New York and raised in Jamaica. He made his recording debut as a teenager. In 2004, Tarrus released his debut album, Challenges. Riley has consistently racked up awards for his work. Among his accolades are Best Singer, Male Vocalist, Cultural Artiste, Song of the Year, and Best Song. Some of the awards institutions which have rewarded Riley include the Youth View Awards, The Star People's Choice Awards, EME Awards, and the Reggae Academy awards. Tarrus is the holder of Jamaica's CVM TV's 15th Anniversary Award, held in February 2009, for the 'Most Admired Song in the Past 15 Years' for the hit "She's Royal". In 2009 Riley released his third album Contagious on Cannon Productions. The album was distributed by VP Records. It contained the hits "Start Anew", "Contagious", and "Good Girl Gone Bad" featuring Konshens and Superman, a cover of a Robin Thicke original. 2010 saw the release of the chart-topper "Protect the People", which scaled several charts in Jamaica and across the Caribbean. Early 2011 saw the release of the Black History-themed "Shaka Zulu Pickney", which was featured on a Nyabinghi rhythm album from Bombrush Music. The video for the song which was directed by Storm Saulter was well received upon its release. His interest in educating the youth about Black History resulted in the Tarrus Riley Freedom Writers Competition, which ran on Jamaica's Irie FM radio station. 2011 also saw the release of videos for hit singles including "Come Ova" and "Never Leave I". Both songs became hits on Jamaican radio as well as in several Caribbean territories. Riley has performed on several stages around the world. His performances have drawn credible reviews from the media in the Caribbean, North America, the United States and Europe.

Tarrus Riley is the son of Season 3 contestant Jimmy Riley. [1]

## Blind Audition

For Tarrus Riley's audition in Episode 204, he performed his song, "My Day". James was the only coach to turn his chair, placing Tarrus on Team James by default.

## Battle Rounds

For the Battle Rounds in Episode 207, Tarrus Riley was paired up against Ali Caldwell. He performed his song, "Beware". By the convincing of JayDK, James chose Tarrus as the winner, sending him to the Knockout Rounds.

## Knockout Rounds

For the Knockout Rounds in Episode 210, Tarrus Riley was paired up against Mo Adeniran. He performed his song, "Gimmie Likkle One Drop". James chose Mo as the winner. None of the coaches opted to steal Tarrus eliminating him from the competition.

## Live Playoffs

Xboy brought back Tarrus Riley as his wildcard for the Live Playoffs. His performance in Episode 212 consisted of him performing his song, "Graveyard". Pennies, Xboy, Danger, and James all gave him standing ovations. Tarrus Riley's performance was not strong enough for Xboy to send him to the Top 12, eliminating him from the competition along with Nelly and The Roots, instead of Ali Caldwell, Brooke Simpson, and Travis Greene.

## Trivia

* Tarrus and Jimmy are the first son and father to compete on *XVoice*.