Angie Miller

Vocalist and songwriter Angie Miller first gained fame as a contestant on the television series American Idol before she took a more personal and mature approach to her music. Miller was born on February 17, 1994 in Beverly, Massachusetts. Her mother and father have both served as ministers in Christian churches, and Angie first developed her passion for music through worship services, even though she was diagnosed with partial hearing loss as a child. Angie was only six years old when she wrote her first song, “Little Sparkle Dress,” and a few years later she was learning to play guitar and piano. Miller was active in choir and musical theater in high school, and became a serious fan of American Idol. In 2012, Miller followed her dream of appearing on the show, and auditioned for the season 12 competition in Newark, New Jersey. Miller’s performance wowed the judges, and she went on to compete in Hollywood, performing one of her own original songs, “You Set Me Free,” and accompanying herself on piano and guitar during her appearances on the series. Miller didn’t win the contest, but came in a more than respectable third, and “You Set Me Free” was released as a digital single, as were two seasonal tunes, “The Christmas Song” and “O Holy Night.” However, Miller opted not to sign with 19 Records, the label affiliated with American Idol, and announced she was looking for a record deal where she would be allowed to write her own songs (having landed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing) and have a greater say over her production. In time, that deal turned out to be with Angie herself; she crowdfunded the recording of her debut EP through Pledge Music, and teamed with the Red Decibel production duo of Adam Watts and Andy Dodd to produce the sessions. Miller’s debut EP, Weathered, was released in November 2014, and showed off a more personal and roots-oriented sound than her appearances on American Idol may have suggested. Upon its release, Weathered rose to number one on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. ~ Mark Deming