All Photos: Alan Mercer
In a music genre where a great story is key and a sense of genuineness is as important as an artist’s vocal prowess, 24-year-old Holly Tucker is emerging on the Texas Country Music scene as one to watch. Her voice has been described by Blake Shelton as “the most effortless, accurate, and powerful voice” the top-charting country music star has ever heard. That, coupled with Holly’s down-to-earth personality evident in both her lyrics and performances is fast moving Holly’s music onto charts and into hearts in Texas and beyond.
Holly Tucker’s musical roots run deep and wide, her musical story beginning even before she was born. Holly is the youngest of three, born to Johnny and Cheryl Tucker, founders of the eighties Christian band, Revised Edition. Holly grew up singing in the church and performing on various stages and at fairs and festivals around Texas. At age 14, Holly recorded her first full-length CD entitled ‘It’s about Time’. A year later she lent her voice to demos in Nashville, and, by the age of 17, had recorded a second full-length CD.
In June 2013, Holly entered the national music conversation, when she rose to the Top 6 out of 40-thousand people who auditioned on Season 4 of NBC TV’s hit music reality show, ‘The Voice.’ Holly, on Team Blake Shelton, was one of only seven contestants to receive an impressive “4-chair-turn”.
Since starring on ‘The Voice,’ Holly has made over 500 personal appearances in 14 states and 2 countries, including Uganda, where she became the first American Country Music Artist to appear in support of the only country music radio voice on the continent of Africa. In the last three years, Holly has made over fifteen trips to Nashville to record, co-write, and perform with some of the best in the country music industry.
Currently, with her focus on the Texas country music scene, Holly has released three singles to Texas Regional Radio. All have charted in the top 100, including ‘Wax Paper Cups’ a duet with popular Texas country artist, Ray Johnston of the Ray Johnston Band, and ‘You’re In Texas,’ which rose to #44 on the TRRR Top 100. Holly's current single, ‘Dallas on Your Boots,’ is climbing the Texas charts and promises to be Holly’s most successful radio release to date.
Additionally, Holly released the official DOYB music video mid-2017 and it was featured on the Country Rebel Facebook page and Great American Country (GAC). In the last year, Holly has opened for well-loved and respected artists such as Tracy Byrd, Willie Nelson, Neal McCoy, Linda Davis, Clint Black, the Oakridge Boys, Stoney LaRue, and more. She is currently on tour in Texas and the southern region with her band on the Steel Tour.
Recently, Holly has been blessed to receive several honors in the Texas music scene. She entered the Texas Music Pickers Songwriter Competition and of the 63 entries, she rose to the top as the 2017 winner. Holly was also nominated for the 2017 ETX Music Awards in 7 categories and ended up winning the Song of the Year (You're In Texas), Music Video of the Year (You're In Texas), Songwriter of the Year, and most special of all, Female Vocalist of the Year.
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Alan Mercer: Holly, let’s talk about how your fabulous new album, ‘Steel’ came about?
Holly Tucker: After my time on ‘The Voice’ ended, I started putting together all these songs that I was going to release as an EP but it turned into a full-length album over the course of three years.
AM: What was the biggest difference between recording ‘Steel’ and your first two albums?
HT: The biggest difference was the quality. There’s just no better quality than recording in Nashville. They’ve got the best combination of players, studios, producers, etc. and I knew I’d get exactly what I wanted it to sound like.
AM: Why did it take so long to release a full album?
HT: I wanted to be careful picking the songs because I wanted them to all be exactly right for this project whether I wrote them or not.
AM: Which songs did you write?
HT: I wrote a total of five songs for the album. I co-wrote ‘You’re In Texas,’ ‘That’s When You Know,’ ‘Slow It Down,’ ‘Real Good You’ and ‘Knock Off.’ All the rest were written by other people.
AM: So you’re happy with your album?
HT: I really think it came together so well. It feels like it’s a child of mine. All these songs represent who I am. I think it’s perfect for coming out as a Texas Country artist.
AM: How did your experience on ‘The Voice’ change you?
HT: The main lesson I took away from ‘The Voice’ was to open up and not be afraid to be myself. I was really shy going on the show and was just afraid people would judge me for whatever reasons. Blake helped me come out of my shell by making me put myself out there and just get out of my own head. I think that made me more genuine and relatable, which worked in my favor.
AM: Texas and the world have really embraced you, haven’t they?
HT: Absolutely, this year has been an incredible year for me in Texas. I’ve really been able to feel the love from everybody accepting me here. It’s my home so it’s kind of natural to think they would but you still have to pay your dues.
AM: How did you end up going to Africa?
HT: People in Uganda LOVE country music! They have one major country music station that goes to the entire country, which is smaller anyway. They wanted to put on a big country concert and have a real country artist make a debut over there. The DJs and people associated with the station had seen me on The Voice and related with my story and my faith, so they reached out to see if I’d come over and do it. Sure enough, I did! It was awesome. I played with a band of all-Ugandan players and they played my country music like nobody’s business! And before I left, they made me eat a cooked, flavored grasshopper, “nsenene” as they call it. A delicacy there.
AM: Wow, you are brave! I don’t think I could even taste it! You work with your family a lot, don’t you?
HT: Yes, my brother Shane is my tour manager and he books for me a little bit as well. My dad is my artist manager and my mom runs my finances. My other brother is a photographer so he has taken a lot of my pictures.
AM: Oh Wow! You all do a great job. All your photos are wonderful.
HT: Thank you, he’s been really cool to do that and he is also a drummer and he has drummed for me in the past.
AM: Sounds like you enjoy working with them.
HT: It’s been a lot of fun working with family!
AM: So you all get along all the time then?
HT: (Laughter) Not all the time but most of the time. We are very close.
AM: I love the duet you recorded with Derek Anthony. How did you get involved with that?
HT: Thank you, Derek and I became friends after The Voice was over, first through social media and then in real life. He asked me to sing the duet with him for his EP. I said, “Yes, of course.”
AM: It’s a gorgeous song.
HT: It’s really pretty. He’s such a good friend. I love Derek to death. I’m glad he asked me to be on it.
AM: You have talents that could put you in the pop music world. Does that interest you?
HT: I’ve always felt in my heart, even from a very young age, that Country music is where I belong. I don’t think I’ll stray too far from that but I’ve always had a dream to make a Contemporary Christian album. My roots are very much in Gospel.
AM: I’d love to hear that because you have a lot of soul in your voice. Do you hear that from others?
HT: That is always such a huge compliment. I have heard that a couple of times.
AM: You can hold your own against any of the soul singers.
HT: Thank you, you’re so sweet. I appreciate that.
AM: How did you end up recording ‘Would I Lie To You’? You do an absolutely STELLAR job on that one too!
HT: Thanks so much! That song was actually a suggestion from my producer, Sean Neff. We were looking to remake an old song that had never been covered by another artist. Sean ran across that song and knew we could do a cool, country version of it, so I gave it a try and here we are!
AM: How much do I love the video for ‘Dallas On Your Boots’!?! Was it fun to make?
HT: It was amazing. Every video shoot is a different and this one was no exception. This video was more serious than any I had done before. I had to tap into a tone and attitude of serious power.
AM: The title of your album, ‘Steel’ tells me that you are a STRONG person. Is this what you are telling us?
HT: I love that you say that. That’s exactly what I want people to go away with after hearing the album. I’m telling you that I am going to try my hardest and I’m never going to give up. The whole point of ‘Steel’ is to be real about who you are and be authentic. I want to be nothing but that with everybody.
To learn more about Holly Tucker visit her web site http://hollytucker.com/