ATLANTA — A metro Atlanta musician hopes the emotional song he wrote for his teacher whose son was murdered will help him become the next “American Idol.”
Slater Nalley, 18, was found on social media by the show’s producers and encouraged to come to Nashville and audition for Season 23, which premieres Sunday on Channel 2.
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Channel 2′s Karyn Greer spoke with Nalley who says he’s loved music his whole life.
“I’ve always been singing. I’ve always done like musicals and things like that. But when I started songwriting around 13, when my aunt gave me a guitar, I was able to start, start messing around with it and figuring out what I really love and who I am as an artist,” he said.
Nalley used his songwriting talents to do something special for a teacher at The Lovett School in Atlanta. Michelle Davis’ son was murdered nine years ago.
Carter Davis and Natalie Henderson, both 17, were found dead behind a Publix in Roswell with gunshots to the head. Jeffrey Hazelwood was sentenced to life in prison for the murders.
Michelle Davis wrote a poem about her son’s death and Nalley turned it into a song.
“To share that special bond with, with a teacher and, and more than just a teacher, being able to share that special bond with a teacher that is now like one of my best friends forever and their family too, you know, just it’s really special,” Nalley said.
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Before the audition, his teacher told judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and former “Idol” winner Carrie Underwood all about him.
“We went to Nashville together, my family and her family, and...right before I went in, [they asked] ‘Hey, would you like her to tell the story of Carter before you go in there?’ And there was no hesitation in my voice when I said, ‘Absolutely.’ And she went in there,” he described.
He said his audition left the judges in tears, but he wasn’t immediately sure why.
“When I finished and I saw the judges crying, I definitely was confident, but I didn’t know if they were crying because they hated it,” Nalley described. “At the end of the day, I’m just like everybody else. I just have a story to tell and a song to sing in this competition.”
“American Idol” premieres Sunday, March 5 at 8 p.m. on Channel 2.
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