Local teen Holly Tucker getting ready for Nashville

When Holly Tucker gets really nervous, that's usually a sign something big is about to happen.

It happened before she sang the National Anthem a cappella before some 10,000 fans at the Ferrell Center for a Baylor-Oklahoma men's basketball game last year, "the most nervous I've ever been in my life," she recalled.

It happened before she sang in front of about 20,000 people at Waco's Fourth on the Brazos celebration in 2007, and it happened when she performed this summer with Waco church music minister and songwriter Chris Wommack at Nashville's legendary Bluebird Cafe.

"There were all these pictures of famous country stars hanging on the wall there. It was so nerve-wracking. It was like they were staring down at you," she said.

Those stage nerves, however, dissolve once she starts to sing, and that's the reason the Lorena High School sophomore finds herself seriously pursuing a music career. "There's no feeling like being on stage. It's where home is for me. Everything else floats away," Tucker said.

At 16, the young singer-songwriter already has an enviable resume: two CDs, It's About Time and For You, the latter recorded in the studio of Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus; performances at regional country showcases like the Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport, La., the Johnnie High Country Music Revue in Arlington, the Garland Opry and the Texas Opry in Crockett; and various talent competitions, such as the Colgate Country Showdown.

Add to that participation in charitable events, such as the Relay for Life and a Gospel Brunch benefiting Talitha Koum, plus regular performances at such venues as the Branson on the Brazos music revue and the Heart O' Texas Fair & Rodeo. Oh, and she plays alto saxophone in the Lorena High School marching band.

Tucker, Cheryl and Johnny Tucker's only daughter (they have two sons, Travis, 22, and Shane, 20), comes by her musical interest honestly. Her parents performed in the contemporary Christian group Revised Edition for five years after graduating from Baylor University. A recording deal that went sour left them sadder but wiser, and that sobering experience shapes Holly's early steps in a music career.

"When she says it's over, it's over," said mom Cheryl. "But she's pushing us to push her."

Wommack, First Baptist Church of Woodway's associate pastor for music ministry, knew the Tuckers from their Baylor days, and they had sung some of his songs in their group. As Holly grew up in the church, he became familiar with her voice and ability to stay on pitch, but the light went on three years ago when the young singer performed the National Anthem in a patriotic service.

"She didn't just sing the National Anthem. She presented it. It was incredible," he recalled. Wommack writes country songs as a hobby, and with the approval of Tucker's parents, he had her record the vocal tracks for some demos of his songs.

He also introduced Holly to some Nashville professionals whom he trusted, such as former Waco resident and Baylor grad Jim Beavers and Sean Neff, recording engineer for DeMarcus' The Grip recording studio.

Last June, with a CD produced by Dick Gimble and months of onstage seasoning under her belt, she returned to Nashville with Wommack to record her second CD, the four-song For You, produced at DeMarcus' home studio and featuring a lineup of Nashville studio musicians in support.

Tucker debuted For You locally in an Oct. 30 show at El Chico Mexican Restaurant and is looking forward to entering the national "Nashville Star" talent competition now that she's 16 and eligible.

What's ahead? Perhaps Belmont College in Nashville after high school, she said, though she also has Baylor blood in her veins. Those plans will be trumped, however, if the right phone call from Nashville should come. At 16, she says she's ready.

"I may not get to finish high school. Something like 'Nashville Star' or 'American Idol' may take me on a (different) path real fast, real soon," she said.