Fort Worth teen went from singing the anthem at wrestling meets to singing on ‘The Voice’

Jeremiah Miller, known as the Timber Creek High School wrestler who would sing the national anthem at wrestling meets, sings for a much bigger audience now that he’s a contestant on NBC’s “The Voice.”

At a watch party Tuesday night at Trinity Springs Middle School, Miller performed for an enthusiastic crowd after his rendition of “Slow Hands” on “The Voice” turned two judges’ chairs.

Adam Levine and Jennifer Hudson both wanted Miller on their teams, but Hudson won out. While Miller is a big fan of Levine and Maroon 5, he chose Hudson because, like Miller, she is vocal about her Christian faith.

When Hudson asked him what he wanted from his experience on the show, he replied, “I just want to be able to build a platform so I can give God the glory.”

Tuesday night, Miller said he felt fortunate to be chosen for the blind auditions — 90 out of thousands of singers get to perform for the judges. Each of the four judges ends up with a team of 12 singers. Miller was the last performer chosen for Hudson’s team.

“This experience has been amazing,” Miller said. “It’s just been crazy.”

He gave up wrestling to focus on singing after his mom encouraged him to consider going to Chicago for an open audition the same day as a big wrestling meet.

Christina Miller said she’d been worried about her son’s focus on losing weight to qualify for a certain weight class and had encouraged him to not give up on his music. After praying for her son, the thought came to her to look up auditioning for “The Voice.”

Jeremiah decided he would take the chance, and he and his parents got cheap, last-minute plane tickets to Chicago.

The first audition led to a few more auditions before he landed the coveted spot in the blind auditions.

After graduating from Timber Creek, he and his mom spent two months of the summer in Los Angeles while he auditioned and went through some of the coaching.

‘Go for it with all you’ve got’

When it came time for the blind audition, the family was nervous, except for Jeremiah.

“We’re all freaking out except for him. I’m looking at my son, and he is so calm and so happy before his blind audition,” Christina Miller said. “He knows that God has his best in mind, and whatever doors open or close, it’s in God’s hands.”

Jeremiah comes from a musical family.

“Someone’s always singing and playing guitar around our house,” his dad, Jeff Miller, said.

Jeremiah’s parents have been church worship leaders, and his two older brothers sing, too. Big brother Jacob Miller, 24, released his first album in October 2014 and performs frequently around the area.

Miller also met his first girlfriend during the audition process, Kiersten Dawson, a 20-year-old college student from Lexington, Ohio. She performed the same day of the blind auditions as Miller, and they just had a connection. Dawson was not chosen for a team but traveled to Fort Worth on Tuesday to support Miller.

“We both love singing and have a passion for the Lord,” Dawson said.

On stage at Trinity Springs on Tuesday night, Dawson performed with him.

As far as the future goes, Miller is excited to continue his musical career.

“I’ve got a big platform from ‘The Voice,’ but I’ve got to step up and work hard and take it in my own hands,” he said.

His advice to others who want to pursue their dream careers?

“Find your passion,” he said. “Find one that God has blessed you with, the one that truly makes you happy, and go for it with all you’ve got.”

This story was originally published October 11, 2017 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Fort Worth teen went from singing the anthem at wrestling meets to singing on ‘The Voice’."