Cover Story
Cover Story
Story by Glenda Sanders
Meridian ’ s Holly Brand seemed a little in disbelief of her new-found fame as she politely paused a photo shoot to snap selfies with a few Ohio seniors who were touring the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience on the same day and wanted a keepsake when they discovered she is a contestant on NBC ’ s “ The Voice .”
Brand took the encounter in stride being she is no stranger to celebrity . Having held the title of Miss Mississippi in 2021 , she competed in the Miss America pageant later that year . She was Miss Mississippi Teen in 2017 .
The celebrity that comes from “ The Voice ” is on a scale much larger than being recognized as Miss Mississippi , she admitted .
Previously , Brand had barely posted on TikTok and within a couple of weeks her followers went from less than a thousand to more than 93,000 . Her Instagram followers also quickly rose from less than 5,000 to almost 17,000 .
“ It ’ s really cool that people know who I am because of my music and because of singing and not because of a pageant that I won ,” she said . “ While I love the work that I did with Miss Mississippi , and loved what I was recognized for , I have always dreamed of being recognized as a musician and as an artist .”
Brand , 23 , is the daughter of Barry Brand , a former music minister and cars salesman , and Connie Brand , a former teacher at Northeast High School and a longtime instructor at Meridian Community College . These days , the mother-daughter duo owns a clothing store , Brand New You Boutique , on North Hills Street .
Her earliest memories of performing in front of an audience are of her singing “ Jesus Loves Me ” at a young age while sitting on her father ’ s lap at church .
“ I always loved being on stage and I always felt the most comfortable on stage with a microphone in my hand because I have been on stage since I was really , really little ,” Brand recalled . From there , her passion for music grew . While other children competed in sports or spent hours in dance lessons while growing up , Brand convinced her parents to take her to any talent competition , festival , wedding or event that would give her the opportunity to sing .
“ I spent a lot of weekends doing stuff like that . I wanted to do that more than to have sleepovers . I wanted to be on the stage singing somewhere ,” said Brand , who still sings in church as a member of the worship team at Northcrest Baptist Church , where she also led youth worship while in high school .
10 • MERIDIAN LIFE