Feb 10, 2006  |  By: KATHERINE VOLIN  | COMMENTS     

Starting this spring, as hundreds of thousands of tourists, politicos and Washingtonians stroll (and you know those tourists will stroll) through Metro doors, up Metro stairs and down Metro escalators, they’ll all be obeying the calm alto voice of a local lesbian.

Randi Miler, 44, was selected last week by a judging panel as the voice of Metro in the "Doors Closing 2006" contest. Some of the finalists will record other announcements for Metro stations, but Miller’s messages will replace the "doors closing" and "Please stand clear of the doors. Thank you," messages that are well known to local commuters.

The new voice is the start of an initiative that will change and add messages about train safety and etiquette starting this spring. Metro officials say that commuters became too accustomed to the old messages and were ignoring them.

"It’s been incredible, " says Miller, who lives in Woodbridge, Va. She first learned of the contest at her job, working as a lease-retention manager at a car dealership in Alexandria, Va.

"I found out about it from my boss," Miller says. "I was paging someone on the intercom and he said, ‘You know, you should try out for the Metro contest.’"

Even prior to winning the contest Miller, who is single, says she often received compliments on her voice and requests for her to record friends’ voicemail messages.

"I definitely got my voice from my father," Miller says. "He does a mean Donald Duck."

Her father, who used to do voiceovers, also entered the contest, but was not a finalist.

"We’re very competitive with each other," Miller says, but she claims there are no hard feelings. "He sent me flowers today. It’s all good."

Charlie Miller says that being out-voiced by his daughter is no embarrassment.

"She’s my daughter for God’s sakes," Charlie declares in a rich baritone. "I’m proud of her."

Charlie does insist that he, among all 1,259 applicants, provided serious competition for his daughter.

"I know that if they were looking for a male voice, I’d have won it," says Charlie, who was not a finalist. "I’m not kidding."

Doris McMillon, who served as a judge for the 10 finalists, disputes the notion that Metro management had a gender preference.

"I asked them when they asked me to be a judge, ‘Are you looking for a male or female?’ and they said, ‘We don’t know. We’re just looking for the best voice,’" says McMillon, a former news anchor who now does voiceover work.

MILLER SAYS SHE didn’t spend too much time preparing for the recording.

"Of course, when I knew I was going to the studio I was like ‘I’m hungry, I should eat something, but what if I burp in the middle of it?’" Miller says. "I had French fries and a glass of wine. I don’t do all that hokey coat your throat with honey stuff, because I figure this is me, au naturel."

It must have worked. McMillon says the decision to choose Randi was unanimous.

"We were looking for a voice that would command attention," McMillon says. "We wanted a voice that was warm, friendly and authoritative. We found that in Randi’s voice."

Leann Landry, who was also on the judging panel, says that she had a particular requirement for the new voice of Metro.

"The thing I was looking for that the other two judges don’t have to worry about is that I ride 10 stops to work and every time those doors open and close, I’m going to hear that voice," says Landry, Metro’s manager of advertising and promotions. "I don’t want somebody that’s really going to annoy me. Yes, I want the voice to move people and not lull them to sleep, but I also don’t want somebody screaming at me at 7 a.m. either."

Miller’s voice, which the judges describe as "confident," "earthy" and "unique," struck them immediately. The third judge was Adam Chism, a senior copywriter for LM&O, Metro’s advertising agency.

"She was the very last one we listened to and we just went, ‘Wow. That is interesting,’" Landry says. "It was almost like your best friend, only the diction was perfect."

MILLER’S PREVIOUS VOCAL experience includes singing and other freelance vocal stylings. In fact, Miller celebrated at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington for karaoke when she won the contest.

"[I sang an] incredibly sped-up version of Carolina on My Mind," Miller says. "I don’t know why it was so fast, but it was the ...