Ep. 72 - Tori Miller, From Miss Rodeo Arkansas to NBC's The Voice
Tori Miller graduated high school at the age of sixteen years old to drive 18 hours east to audition for one of two spots on a University’s traveling singing troupe. She not only made the stop, but she traveled the country for four years while getting her English degree. But 120 plus shows a year for that stretch took it’s toll and she felt burnt out. “Go back to your roots,” advised her step father and those roots were the world of rodeo. Three pageants later and she was named the 2016 Miss Rodeo Arkansas, the Rising Star at the subsequent Miss Rodeo America Pageant, her rodeo queen fashion was featured in Vogue, and then she made the Season 19 cast of NBC’s The Voice on Team Gwen Stefani!
“I would say that it was probably music first,” says Tori, who remembers hearing her mom sing 26 Cents, an old classic, 90’s country song, at a local talent show and she realized she had a passion for singing at the age of four. A musical step dad who does a lot of Outlaw Country, the “good ole pickin’ and grinnin’” kind of music.
“I have always felt that country music, horses and growing up in the country is just this natural overlap in my life,” says Tori, who ran her first playday pattern at the age of five. “I fell in love with the adrenaline!”
At the age of eleven, she said she didn’t want to run barrels anymore, so her stepdad sold her barrel horse, trailer, and EVERYTHING the very next day! When she asked him why he was so quick to do so, he said that she seemed serious about singing music, even at that young age! In fact, Tori was a childhood performer at an amusement park in Missouri, two and a half hours away from where she lived. There she would yodel and clog - something she was a bit embarrassed about for a phase!
Graduating Early for Music
At the age of sixteen years old, Tori had graduated high school because she had heard of a traveling music group eighteen hours away in Virginia. Full ride scholarships were offered and students could not only travel the country, but they could also study whatever degree they wanted to. After auditioning for one of two spots, Tori not only got it but then moved and spent the next four years traveling. The closest person in age to her was 22 years old!
“It made me grow up really quickly and made me decide what I wanted in my life. I was pretty hellbent on singing,” says Tori. But the grind of over 120 concerts a year, traveling the country and studying full time began to take its toll on her.
Racism on the Road
“When you were out on the road, with all of these adults, I saw this post that you were recently tagged in,” says co-host Katie Schrock. “It was from someone from that time that had tagged you in a post and about some of the racism she had seen when you were her roommate on the trip. Would you be willing to share about it?”
When Melissa joined the team, Tori was excited to have someone just a few months age wise between them when Melissa was a freshman and Tori was a junior. “Melissa is a power house vocalist and if you see her she is this beautiful, black woman that commands any room she’s in,” says Tori. “I remember one time we were in a mall and we had a lot of free time in-between shows and we were shopping in a store and she said, ‘I’m ready to leave.’”
It was because she had been profiled by the woman working there and was being followed due to racial profiling. At the time, it didn’t even cross Tori’s mind that this was a normal situation that Melissa had dealt with before. “That was the beginning of a huge-huge wake up call for me!”
Often staying with host families or families from churches or non profits that they would sing for, they would put them up in their home. There was once a woman that didn’t want Mel to stay with her because Mel was black.
“In the moment, I was like, ‘That can’t be why!’ Because, at the time, I adhered to the whole thing that ‘I Don’t see color,’” says Tori. “But now seeing what is happening in our country, that’s the problem. White poeple just assume that other white people can’t be doing that because we don’t see color. We need to damn straight see color and recognize the impression that people near and dear to our hearts are dealing with in these struggles.”
Tori has even gotten Melissa to sing the National Anthem at multiple rodeos when they lived together in Arkansas and the crowds were shocked by her amazing vocal power!
From Musical Burnout to Rodeo Queen
“Return to your roots,” was the advice of Tori’s step dad who was the president of their local rodeo. In the encouragement to volunteer at the rodeo, Tori “got it in her head” to run for the title of rodeo queen and BOMBED the pageant. Two weeks later, she decided to run for Rodeo of the Ozarks queen title - the largest in the state outside of Miss Rodeo Arkansas.
Tori worked her butt off in studying and practicing - and she WON! It was the stepping stone to Miss Rodeo Arkansas and competing at the Miss Rodeo America pageant.
“At its core, rodeo culture really differed from what I thought it was as a kid and into my early teens. Now, in my early 20’s, things have changed a lot, and I’m Miss Rodeo Arkansas and what the heck am I supposed to do to make a difference?” Says Tori, who had a great predecessor before her in the 2015 Miss Rodeo Arkansas. Her predecessor told her, “Dig your heels in and run with it” in regards to everything that made her unique.
Overcoming Rodeo Queen Lows
The first February and March was a low point for Tori who felt overwhelmed on the national stage. As a state rodeo queen, she was around the other titleholders and couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed and as if she wasn’t in the right place. But by learning from her peers and working hard, just like she did to win the title, Tori dug in deep to what made her unique and ran with it! That included singing at rodeo’s and even the Miss Rodeo America pageant!
Combining Fashion & Vogue
Tori in one of her unique designs that she regrets not wearing at the Miss Rodeo America Pageant.
“I got to put my spin on [my pageant wardrobe] and that was such a highlight for me,” says Tori, whose mom was a fashion major. In a full circle moment, Vogue surprised the 2016 State Class of Titleholders at the 2017 Miss Rodeo America Pageant and took photos for an article they were doing covering cowgirls.
“We had found this Nigerian woman in Dallas … and she did a lot of things that kind of had a subtle nod to bolo jackets and classic western wear but she did everything in beads and rhinestones, and worked with leather pretty comfortable,” says Tori about her wardrobe. Her bio dad gave her a budget and her mom reached out to the designer for a meeting. “She had all these beautiful ideas and designs, I would just spin them to make them a bit more country.”
There is one dress that Tori brought that she didn’t wear at the pageant, instead “dialing it back” to a more traditional outfit. In hindsight, she regrets not staying true to herself and wearing that outfit!
The Voice
Tori auditioned the first time for The Voice in 2013, right after college and it didn’t work out. A few years later, she had another option to audition in California, so she took time to visit her California rodeo friends and went to Disneyland and dinner. The audition the next day ultimately didn’t work out either.
“Somebody, a casting producer for American Idol, just DM’d me and I thought it was a scam,” says Tori about being asked to go on American Idol. Auditioning in Vegas, then another one for the powerhouse American Idol executive producers in Los Angeles, and then she got the huge validation when she got the nod to audition for the judges in three-months time in Sun River, Oregon.
Super into the rodeo queen part of things, the entire 2016 Queen Group came together in either spirit via a video or in person to support her at the American Idol audition in front of Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Katy Perry.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the ticket for Hollywood on Idol,” says Tori.
“I was so worried … we went to Olive Garden… and I remember being so worried that you weren’t going to sing music again,” says Katie about Tori’s comments after that audition.
Tori singing her blind audition song, “When you say nothing at all” on Season 19 of The Voice.
“I felt super defeated after getting the no’s,” Tori admits. “Then this opportunity just dropped into my life when another producer reached out … to see if I would submit another audition video.”
After just going through all of it with Idol, Tori wasn’t sure she wanted to have the rejection again. But she felt like it was what she was made to do and wanted to keep pushing for any opportunity. Already all virtual due to COVID-19, Tori figured she’d have nothing to lose and got passed through a few rounds.
“Before I knew it, I got this call, and I was at work and it was an LA number. It was the head of the casting company for The Voice,” says Tori who had been auditioning for Season 20 but they had bumped her up to Season 19. Thankful for flexible bosses that realized singing was her dream, Tori started a month-long journey that was just the audition
The Voice During COVID-19
Not knowing a lot of details, Tori just knew what hotel to go to in Hollywood and she knew she’d be there for up to a month for her blind audition. Once they went to their room, they weren’t allowed to leave, have contact with room service, nothing. They were only allowed to come down for their scheduled COVID test which was every other day.
“That was a huge growing point for me if, you can imagine, being locked into the smallest hotel room with a king size bed all by myself,” says Tori. “I didn’t know this, but people were being cut from a little over a hundred people to about fifty or sixty of us during that entire time.”
Once out of the quarantine, it was a whirlwind of getting tested every other day, doing wardrobe, and seeing other contestants like ships in the night in the lobby. In the past, the cast has gotten to get to know each other and hang out but, during that first month, that chance to get to know anybody wasn’t really possible.
“I had my group of friends that I really prioritized making time with - we called each other Pop Kiss and it was fated that we came together like family,” says Tori who went on to make the Top 40 after the Blind Audition and spent another month in LA preparing for the battle round.
“The craziest thing about the whole journey that ties into the whole rodeo queen thing was just that I found the most success in returning to my roots,” says Tori. “I found the most success in rodeo queening when I was like, ‘this is Tori,’ and the same thing for these shows… the moment that I was like, ‘I’m going to play classic country and not be a pop start that I am not.’ I just allowed myself to be me.”
“No matter how many missteps you may think you take .. it’s going to work out in some sort of way.”
Advice for Big Competitions
Tori practices in front of Gwen Stefani on The Voice with Van Andrews, her battle rounds partner.
“I am my biggest competition and it has nothing to do with anybody else and it has everything to do with what I want to gain out of this experience. I knew I wasn’t the top pick in Miss Rodeo America, but that didn’t negate the fact that I believed in myself and believed in my ability to grow to have the best outcome possible. Maybe I changed some peoples minds that may have preconceived notions about rodeo queens. And the relationships I have grown out of it and the music realm, … there are people that I share similar passions with that make it so worth it…. Rodeo, even from a young age, helped me do that. Of course you want the fastest time but your biggest competition is yourself,” advises Tori. “You need to center yourself on what you need to do.”
Creating Networks
“Besides accomplishing a lifelong goal of being on The Voice is the collaborations that I am now privy too with these artists that I adore and respect,” says Tori. “One of the Top 12 finalists from my season, I was texting her this morning about something she is going through. She’s like family!”
These once in a lifetime opportunities lead to these amazing networks that you can build on and utilize in your career and future.