Britney Holmes is a perfect example of a teacher made stronger because she’s still a student.
A vocal coach in Frisco, Holmes prides herself on mentoring and motivating others. Yet she is still perfecting her craft.
“I honestly cannot believe the journey I’m on,” she said, smiling.
Holmes is in the running to be the next American Idol. The judges originally passed on her, but Katy Perry chose her for a rare second chance audition and a nationwide vote sent her through to Hollywood. It was revealed live on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.
“I’m standing next to Lionel Richie and he’s giving me a golden ticket to Hollywood and I’m like, ‘This is insane!’ It’s happening on the Dancing with the Stars finale, like, this is crazy!” she said, thinking back on the moment she won.
It was quite a moment for a young woman who started singing at the age of six. Her father taught her to sing the national anthem, and she remembers belting it out in her backyard on top of a fort her father had built her.
Holmes started vocal lessons and soon began performing the national anthem for the Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers. She landed a recording contract by 13 and was a Radio Disney star. But the entertainment industry is tough and, as she got older, people started saying no.
“I think something shifts from being this little kid who has this big voice to being a teenager with a big voice to now being an adult, and it’s not as cool or interesting versus when I was a little kid who belts out the national anthem,” Holmes said. “So, I’ve had to find my way as an artist and singer and figure out who I am and how I was going to get from point A to Z. I’m now on this Idol journey and I have no clue what to expect. It’s been overwhelming, and I’m super grateful to even have the opportunity. I mean, it’s American Idol!”
Holmes has found success on YouTube recording covers of other artists and producing her own songs and videos. She has excelled at teaching her students about more than just vocals.
“I try to be a mentor to others and really inspire them to stick with it because it is hard, you’re going to hear no and you’re not good enough. You might feel lost,” she said. “The thing I had to remind myself is just be you. Just be you and if people like you if they don’t great, that’s cool too. But, keep going. I mean life doesn’t end at a 'no.'”