One of McKinney's own singers/songwriters made a new name for herself on the national stage.
Kourtney White, 37, impressed celebrity judges of NBC's singing reality competition The Voice during her recent trial performance of the show's infamous blind auditions, which aired during October. The show's season 26 judges are Snoop Dog, Gwen Stefani, Michael Bublé and Reba McEntire. The current season of The Voice premiered on Sept. 23, 2024.
"From being born and raised in McKinney, it was wonderful to put McKinney on TV, no matter what happened with me personally. Many local people I didn't know reached out, saying they're proud; it was a great experience for that alone," shares Kourtney.
When Reba asked Kourtney at the audition how long she'd been singing, she explained she'd grown up singing in church. Reba told her she'd done a wonderful job.
Gwen encouraged her not to leave as upset or discouraged, because she's "so talented and beautiful."
"I like your voice," stated Michael. "I could hear people reacting to you, but that's the weird part about this show. They can see you and I couldn't. I wasn't having that same visceral reaction. But you should feel proud of yourself. To put yourself out here like this takes an incredibly strong human being."
Interaction from self-proclaimed 'Brother Snoop' with 'Sister Kourtney' was about returning to the show in a future season with "a church song, giving something with that soul on it" so he could feel her spirit of that voice. He reminded her that he and his fellow coaches also had been told "no" at various points, but to keep going and "stay strong."
On The Voice, Kourtney sang her version of Adele's song "Remedy," launching straight into powerful lyrics of "But when the pain cuts you deep..."
As part of the audition, Kourtney and her mother, Sharon Berry, and her sister, Kristian White, explained how the longtime singer had gone through surgery in 2022 for a rare brain condition, not knowing if she would be able to talk and walk again post-operation. Kourtney says the condition is called idiopathic intracranial hypertension, which occurs when there's too much cerebrospinal fluid in a skull, causing increased pressure on the brain and optic nerve. She had a second surgery during April 2023 to correct for pseudotumor cerebri.
"They told me it would take a year to relearn how to walk, but I was so determined, I fought every day. I recovered in a month," Kourtney shared, showing her determined grit.
Singing since she was 7 years old, Kourtney says she was signed as a child artist, but it didn't turn out to be an upstanding contract. "That crushed my heart, and I stopped singing altogether when I was 17 years old. I worked a 9 to 5 job at a call center to make ends meet.”
In 2017, Kourtney says her cousin pushed her to sing the song she wrote, titled Walk Away. “He recorded it and put it out there online. I woke up to it going viral," she recalls.
The song was about anguish that comes after realizing a true love relationship just won’t work.
Surprisingly to some, Kourtney says her favorite genre is country music. “I like the storytelling of country songs, especially the ones I can feel every word, like from Sara Evans and Shania Twain. The best songs and singers reflect passion.”
Kourtney asserts that her experience with The Voice has been life-changing in that it was the biggest stage of influential people that she's ever been on. "I met so many people and learned so much, specifically that I should keep going, no matter what comes," she says. "God promised me the stage; He didn't promise me a chair turn. I was where I was supposed to be, sharing this music, inspiring others. The whole experience, in its own way, completed me, and gave me the strength to keep going."
She says the most stressful part of The Voice journey was the waiting and anticipation of what's going to happen.
"The aspect I most enjoy about singing is touching other people's souls. I've been through so much, but other people have contacted me to share that I've influenced them, or changed and saved their lives. In touching other people's hearts, it has changed mine," Kourtney says.
She did just that type of musical communicating when she posted her soulful cover of Chris Stapleton’s song Tennessee Whiskey during 2018, for which some admirers stated left them with goosebumps.
Kourtney eventually ignited her full love affair with singing, songwriting and music. She now is booked to perform at weddings, birthday parties and special events. In fact, McKinney city officials even booked her to sing live at Juneteenth community celebration activities in Finch Park during 2021.
“I’m also traveling to perform, and am dropping five or six records, keeping busy with music now as my career,” Kourtney assures.
One of her fans, Archelle Stanley-Jones posted: “We (your forever fans) know what you're truly capable of. We love you Kourt. God has something amazing in store for you. You've taken the route He's prepared. Just wait.”
Kourtney's music can be seen and heard on Facebook, YouTube, Apple iTunes, SoundCloud, Spotify and TIDAL.