For more than two decades, the nationally televised platform American Idol has been a major spotlight for emerging voices across the country.
Charlotte student Nyla Martin said she has seen the show on TV for years, but “still couldn’t really comprehend and wrap my mind around” having the opportunity to stand before judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood.
Sharing her experience with EdNC, Martin unveiled the array of feelings she had during her audition — which aired on Monday night — and along the journey of amplifying her anointing throughout the nation.
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Laying it down for the Lord
Currently 17, Martin is adamant that music has been aligned with God’s calling on her life since she was “fresh out of the womb.”
Some of her earliest memories consist of rhyming, beat boxing, and of course singing, despite not quite knowing the English language as a toddler — her parents clapping in encouragement as they captured the moments on camera.
A singer, too, Martin’s late father, Robert Martin, served as a member of the gospel quartet, Voices of the Morning Star. She described his voice as a profound and powerful rumbling.
“He taught me to lay it down for the Lord,” Martin said, emphasizing the firm foundation in faith that her father helped to instill.
At age 5, Martin recalls shyly singing in front of the congregation at Ellerbe Grove Baptist Church whenever they visited her father’s hometown in Rockingham.
This wasn’t quite the moment that she fully recognized her gift, but Martin said it was in the church, singing gospel, that she first recognized her growing desire for others to hear her sing.
Not quite High School Musical
As Martin progressed through elementary school at First Ward Creative Arts Academy, she was exposed to the world of musical theater. In third grade, she auditioned for Aladdin — singing, dancing, performing, and loving it — and was cast as one of Jafar’s guards.
The year after, she earned her first lead role as Mary Poppins. This was the opportunity that confirmed for Martin what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. “It feels amazing to get that sense of identity of who you are and know what you want to do,” she said.
Having entered middle school virtually at Northwest School of the Arts (Northwest) during the COVID-19 pandemic, she said her experience was far from what was depicted in Disney’s “High School Musical,” or Nickelodeon’s TV series “Victorious.
Around the same time, Martin also joined her father as a part of the praise and worship team at their church, which made her more confident with going on stage and singing in front of people. Along with the piano lessons and recitals that she engaged in, Martin said she further developed her music theory and skills during this period in life.
Eventually, she was greeted in person by the school’s large mural and “vintage” walls, along with the auditorium stage. “This is going to be my home for the next seven years,” Martin recollected.
In middle school specifically, Martin shared that her theater arts teacher, Kelly Petrere, helped her hone the skills of acting through song.
“It’s one thing to stand there and sing all pretty, but it’s another to tell a story through it,” she said.
Martin said Petrere was critical to her growth in embodying the feeling of the words that she sings to further relay a message to the audience.
Martin’s growth was accompanied by greater opportunities.
She credits Matthew Hinson, musical director at Northwest, with helping her land her first paid performance. As a seventh grader, Martin sang in front of a sold out audience of nearly 1,200 people at the Knight Theater in Charlotte. That would prove to be only the beginning; her eyes set on even grander prizes.
Over the span of the following two years that marked her transition to high school, Martin made up her mind, saying, “I’m going to be somebody.” This mentality was heavily influenced by the unfortunate passing of her father in August 2023, ahead of her first year of high school.
“Singing was definitely an outlet that I used after he passed, so that I could keep his legacy alive,” Martin said. “I definitely didn’t want to let everything that he taught me throughout the years go to waste.”
Thus, Martin forged ahead into the journey of becoming a singer, having applied to several major competitions.
The first of which was the YoungArts national art competition that netted her a monetary reward along with a trip to Miami. There, she was able to network with artists her age across a multitude of disciplines.
During that period, she also had multiple auditions for the TV show, The Voice; a pursuit that Martin considers to have been a great learning experience.
Most notably, Martin took her talents to the historic Apollo Theater in New York City. There, she secured $5,000 and the title of 2025 “Child Star of Tomorrow,” following her rendition of Jennifer Holliday’s “I Am Changing” to close out the competition.
According to Martin, rubbing the historic “Tree of Hope” stump, and performing on the same Apollo stage that many illustrious artists have performed on was beautifully surreal — it made her feel like the hard work paid off.
“I made it. I’m doing great,” she said. “I’m making my dad proud. I’m making my family proud.”
The golden ticket
The pride of Martin’s family and community was on full display as they joined her on national television during auditions for American Idol.
In the third episode of the 24th season that aired on Monday, Martin delivered a powerful performance of “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin.
“It’s hard to believe that you’re 17 years old with an instrument like that,” Underwood said, followed by each of the judges choosing to award Martin with a Golden Ticket, signaling her advancement to the next round of the competition.
“Getting that golden ticket and holding that paper in my hand felt like I was holding the rest of my life in my hand,” Martin said. “It felt like I was holding a million bucks. It was so unreal. It was so amazing.”
Reflecting on her journey leading up to that moment, Martin shared an encouragement to other youth, urging them to be resilient in the face of rejection and discouragement. More importantly, she emphasized the necessity of keeping yourself surrounded by great people.
Martin acknowledged her mom and stepdad specifically for the support that they’ve shown her — despite all of her “hootin’ and hollerin’” while singing around the house.
“They really know how to show up for me,” she said. “And they know that it’s important to me, so they’ll do whatever it takes to help my dream and my wishes come to fruition.”
Source: ednc.org