Standing in front of the cameras, judges and America, Boulder singer Halle Tomlinson took the stage, hand trembling as she held the microphone, belting out “New York State of Mind” by Billy Joel. Her talent got her a spot on the show and praises from the judges: Adam Lambert, Alicia Keys, Blake Shelton and Miley Cyrus.
Her story starts before this milestone event.
Tomlinson was born in Chicago, and came from a family of performers.
“Both of my parents are dancers and they actually owned a performing arts school,” said Tomlinson.
Tomlinson grew up in Dallas surrounded by dance and music. Her family dynamic changed when her father moved to Los Angeles after accepting a new job and the buyer fell through for the studio owned by the family. Tomlinson and her mother were forced to stay in Dallas because of this.
“We moved into this really small loft in downtown Dallas and that piano was there. And I was going through a really hard time, my parents split up because of long distance, it was a rough time,” said Tomlinson
As a preteen, this change was hard for her. So she turned to the piano for solace and her path in music began.
“I was depressed and I started writing. And when I wrote, every time I would write a song it would be like the way I felt that day or whatever I was feeling and it would kind of just be like a release for me,” said Tomlinson.
After teaching herself piano and beginning to write songs, Tomlinson moved her focus to the guitar. Her cousin was gifted a pink guitar with a heart opening for Christmas. Tomlinson was instantly jealous of the instrument, and wanted to play it. Since her cousin neglected the instrument, Tomlinson picked it up and began to teach herself how to play it.
“I started to teach myself how to play and then I started writing and then I kind of found like, it was very therapeutic, and I think that’s why I got so involved in it, because it really brought out another side in me that I had never seen before,” said Tomlinson.
The first song she learned was “Rock and Roll All Nite” by KISS, which she played on only one string. It was a small start, but it put her on the road to learning more.
Tomlinson kept at the guitar, piano and writing her own music. Tomlinson’s mother eventually remarried, and the family relocated to Boulder.
At the age of 12, she was in a new city, starting a new chapter. She was also in search of an extracurricular activity to fill her time. That’s how Tomlinson got involved with the School of Rock, something she had never heard of before. After a trial lesson at the school, Tomlinson fell in love, and hasn’t left since. Six years later, she is now a teacher at the school, giving voice lessons, and teaching guitar, piano, bass and drums. Her mother also works at the School of Rock.
At School of Rock, Tomlinson was able to receive formal training for her voice as well as her playing, and was introduced to music theory, which is an important part of becoming a great musician. Now as a teacher, she focuses on this aspect with her students.
“I think it’s really important to implement theory and know what you’re doing because the whole time that I was playing in growing up, I didn’t have that. The minute that I found that and had an interest in that I feel like my writing skyrocketed,” Tomlinson said.
Her time at the School of Rock has influenced her playing by introducing her to classic rock, expanding her musical tastes into other genres other than the pop music her parents are into. She has learned more about the history of music, as well as the theory, allowing her to expand her playing.
Earlier this year, after receiving an email about sending in video auditions to “The Voice” Tomlinson decided to audition on a whim.
She recorded herself playing guitar and singing “Just Like a Star” by Corinne Bailey Rae. Tomlinson didn’t think she would get a call back at all, and said she really sent the tape in just for fun. The next day, she got a response from producers.
“They were like, we don’t want you to come to open calls; we want you to come straight to callbacks. And so I was like, oh snap. This is real,” Tomlinson said.
She then traveled to Philadelphia for a callback audition, which she claims she did horrible at. But once again, producers thought otherwise and invited her back for another audition. After doing well, she was then invited to what the show calls blinds, the audition in front of the judges.
During her blind audition, Tomlinson was noticeably nervous as she shook while belting out Billy Joel. Within 20 seconds of singing, Adam Lambert hit his button, turning his chair around to see her and signifying he wanted to take her under his wing. Within five seconds, Alicia Keys did the same, giving Tomlinson her choice of who she wanted to train with.
“There is a gang of people that are carbon copies of a gang of other people,” said Keys after Tomlinson finished her song. “I loved it. I was so happy for you to have this character and you didn’t try too hard. It was easy and effortless and fluid and just like here’s me, doing my thing, like this like this. It was so good Halle.”
Following words of praise from the other judges, Tomlinson chose to work with Keys. Although she left the show the next week, the experience had a profound impact on her life.
“When I ended up going to do my blind audition it was already like I had won. Like a feeling of accomplishment,” Tomlinson said. “The big thing that I took away from it was like the connections and the people, and even now that I’m off the show, it’s like I’m so excited to see my friends, like kill it. So it’s really cool, it was awesome, it’s been a really cool experience.”
Now back in Boulder, Tomlinson is continuing to teach at the School of Rock, and is also looking forward in her career in music.
“I’m actually working on my album right now, which is called “Double Negative,” and it should be out February 2017,” Tomlinson said. “It’s my first full album, so I’m really hoping that it turns out okay in the way that I’m envisioning it. I’m thinking it’s going to be really cool.”
Tomlinson describes her music as a mix of grunge and soul, and has written both the lyrics and music for all of her albums tracks.
“It’s real and its feelings, and it’s emotional,” Tomlinson said. “It’s (music) such a beautiful thing, it helps people. It makes people happy, it makes people sad, it makes people feel every emotion and I think that not a lot of things can do that to a person. It’s so therapeutic and it’s a beautiful thing, so why wouldn’t I wanna make it my life.”
- Originally written, recorded and posted on the blog Under the Flatirons
