Fair warning, this is written from the perspective of a fan. In January I looked forward to my early morning phone call with musician Jordan Rainer. Like many Okies, I followed her last year on The Voice as a member of team Reba McEntire.
After exchanging introductions, I asked what her day looked like. “I’m making breakfast, something I rarely do.” When I asked what was on the menu she responded, “SPAM and eggs.” My silent response, she’s my kind of gal, making the rest of our conversation easy and enjoyable.
On The Voice, Jordan came across as genuine and witty after getting a rare four-chair turn from the coaches.
Jordan had been trying to get on the radar of fellow Oklahoman Reba McEntire for a while. “Getting the attention of a major star like Reba could help my career.” When I asked what led her to try out for the voice she said, “Someone from the show actually reached out to me. The Voice knocked on my door after years of songwriting and performing.”
Before it was confirmed that Reba would replace Blake Shelton, Jordan knew the song she would perform if given a shot to audition. “I covered it for years, but there’s always a risk auditioning with a signature song of a coach.” High risk equals high reward. From the first guitar strum, everyone, including Reba knew what song was coming. What no one knew yet was Jordan would turn all four chairs performing Fancy like it was her own signature song. Once the coaches turned around, Jordan captivated them, and the audience, with her talent, look, charisma, and stage presence.
When John Legend asked why she picked that particular Reba song, Jordan confidently replied, “Cause it’s the best. It was written by a strong woman, it was made famous by a strong woman (Reba), and it represents lyrically what women do to survive, and I am a woman who has done what I’ve had to do to survive, and so I feel the song in every bone in my body.”
As the coaches made their pitches, Jordan continued to impress them with humor and a sharp wit. Responding to Reba’s inquiry about how long she’d been in Nashville Jordan quipped, “Moved there eight years ago with a husband and a wiener dog. Still got the wiener dog.” That brought the house down. If you missed her blind audition, it’s worth watching (or rewatching). youtube.com/watch?v=yIJ2yMywPt4
The day we spoke, Jordan was recording backing tracks for future performances. When I asked about being on the road she replied, “I love the road. Performing music in front of an audience is what I was meant to do. I’m running a business. Someone manages my social media, and someone else is booking tour dates.” When I asked the best way fans can support her Jordan emphasized downloading her music on Spotify. “It’s an important metric record labels use when deciding to offer contracts.”
Through the Spitfire Nation, for a monthly fee starting at $5, supporters like me can plug into a private Facebook group, have early access to unreleased music, first access to new music and videos, 10% merchandise discounts, monthly shout-outs on social media, monthly zoom calls, a virtual backstage pass, and handwritten lyric sheets at jordanrainerofficial.com.
“I bombed at regular jobs, so it was music or nothing.”
