Christina “Redd” Daugherty’s journey as an artist is just beginning
Christina Daugherty’s story is not far from what many musicians have gone through. A challenging experience catapulted her into a life in music.
Better known to many as Redd, she found her home in music early in life, originally in her school’s jazz band with classical guitar. It wasn’t until middle school that she fell in love with singing. “I felt a passion for it, but I didn’t really understand it,” she says.
Late in high school at an open mic night, Redd built up the courage to go on stage alone, and the crowd responded to her raspy, unique sound. “That was really the first experience that I had where people were giving good feedback,” she says. But she ended up becoming the person behind the soundboard, quietly supporting other singer-songwriters on their journeys.
I remember that quiet desire. Busing tables at a local restaurant I wanted to make a living through music, but I lacked the confidence that people would ever want to pay to hear me sing. Redd says she felt this, too.
However, at the start of the pandemic, she took a leap. As an English teacher at L&N STEM Academy, it was tough to be away from her students, she says, but she put that time into her music. She started a band and marketed it on social media. Eventually, her students noticed and pushed her to submit a video to American Idol last year, after which she was asked to do a virtual audition for the show’s producers. They later flew her out for an in-person audition, and she finished in the show’s top 40. “It grew my confidence,” she says.
I found myself aligning with Redd’s journey as we talked. When I was told by producers of The Voice that I had something special, that was the first time I heard that and believed it. It ignited a fire in me that still burns today. It seems that happened with Redd, too.
She released her first solo album, Monsters & Mothers, early this year, and is actively working on her next: “I feel like I’ve finally come into my voice.” You can find Redd’s music at www.reddofficialmusic.com.