Finding Her Voice
Holly tucker blends gospel roots with feel-good country tunes
By BRANDY CRUZ | Photos by BECKY STINEHOUR
From the moment 7-year-old Holly Tucker stepped on the stage to sing at First Baptist Church of Woodway, she knew she had found her calling.
“I don’t know what it was about that moment or that stage, but that was the moment,” the now 32-year-old singer said. “I truly feel that when I’m singing, that’s where I’m supposed to be.”
With a gospel influence, Tucker found her way to country music, inspired by ’90s country music artists like Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Sara Evans and Jo Dee Messina. With natural ambition and God-given talent, Tucker knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that up on the stage singing is where God wanted her to be.
Even with talent, the music industry is a difficult place to make a name for oneself. After multiple auditions for reality singing competitions, Tucker received a four-chair turn on The Voice. The fourth season, starring coaches Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Shakira and Usher, was full of talented singers, but Tucker stood out from the crowd.
Within 15 seconds, three chairs turned. Then by 30 seconds, all four chairs turned for Tucker’s rendition of To Make You Feel My Love.
“I still remember the process being so surreal,” Tucker said, describing the moment the chairs turned for her. “I was like, ‘Am I doing this?’ I was going into this audition expecting ‘No,’ but just trying to get the experience.”
The country singer said what people don’t see on TV is the process leading up to the blind auditions. After about a month of pre-auditions, she received a call back for the famous blind auditions, where all four judges’ chairs are turned away from the stage. It’s in that moment the performer is judged on pure talent. If the judge likes what they hear, they push the buzzer and turn to see the person on stage.
“I get up there and start singing and I don’t even get a couple of words into my song before I’ve got three chairs turned for me, so inside I’m like, ‘Oh, crap!’ So I was just trying to hold it together, to be honest,” Tucker said.
Choosing her mentor was easy. Tucker said she was always going to choose Blake Shelton if given the opportunity.
“I think it was just my time. I’ve always known who I am. I’ve always sung country music for my auditions. I’ve known that’s who I want to be and who I am,” she added. “I think my voice had more time to develop, my artistry had more time to develop, a little chance to build a thicker skin. All of those are what it takes to be on a stage like that.”
Even though the 10-time Country Music Award winner was the last one to turn for her, Tucker, who ended up placing sixth in the competition, said she knew he was the right coach for her. She said learned so much during her journey because of Shelton’s guidance, but most especially how to come out of her shell a little.
“Blake passed on to me to just stop being in your head so much and be in your performance,” Tucker said. “If you’re having fun, the audience is having fun.”
Now with a little more experience — and even more of a thicker skin — Tucker is busy writing music, performing and even becoming more involved in her local church — Journey Christian Community Church in Waco — where she has become a worship pastor. She believes her close relationship with God is what gives her strength and what makes her music unique.
“I don’t come from a background of being raised in bars, and spending every single night in a dancehall and partying. I have a lot of church background, so a lot of my songs having positive messages. A lot of my songs are uplifting,” she said. “A lot of people want to put out sad, country music. I love that too, I’m not knocking that. But I feel like, life can be sad enough sometimes, so I want my music to make people smile and make them think and maybe even turn back to the Lord if they’ve been gone for a while.”
Tucker said that writing, singing and producing an album is a labor of love, but she’s all about the hard work when she’s on a mission. She knows her single, You’re Gonna Know My Name, may come off as confident, but that’s because she has to be confident to make it in the music industry. “I’m gonna work hard and I’m not gonna stop until I get what I know God has planned for my life,” she added.
Her latest single Trailer Parkin’ is a fun, laid-back summer song about her husband, Spencer, and one of their first dates.
“When we were first dating, he lived in a trailer park. It was such a beautiful setting, it was a beautiful day,” Tucker said. “You could see the sun shining and the wind blowing and I thought, ‘This should be a country song.’”
Tucker’s music can be found on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you download your music from. Samples of her music can also be heard on her official website, www.hollytucker.com.
“I love singing because I just feel the happiest when I’m doing that. I truly feel that when I’m singing, that’s where I’m supposed to be,” Tucker said. “When I get the chance to touch people and move people, it’s just a feeling like nothing else in life. It’s the biggest joy and love of my life.”
