Atlanta high school student finds his confidence on ‘American Idol’

Caption

Lovett’s Slater Nalley (left) has made it to Hollywood Week on “American Idol.”

Credit: Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless

Slater Nalley first caught American Idol fans’ attention when he auditioned with a song he wrote about his teacher’s late son. Now, he’s hoping to let America get to know him a little bit better. 

In a moment that went viral earlier this year, Nalley’s audition began with an introduction from his English teacher, Michele Davis. The song that Nalley performed, “Traces of You,” was about Davis’ son Carter, who died eight years ago, and based on a poem Davis wrote that she had previously shared with her students. 

“To hear Slater sing ‘Traces of You’ in front of celebrity judges and then watch the audition was truly surreal — just magical,” Davis said in an emailed statement. “Losing a child shatters you, and yet life goes on. To see Carter’s spirit get to live on a little in this song is a priceless gift that seems to put some of those shattered pieces back together. My family is forever grateful.”

Nalley said when the producers asked him if Davis could introduce him and the song, he jumped at the chance. It felt like a respectful way to handle Carter’s story, he said. 

“I wrote the song with an incredible friend of mine, Rebecca Powell, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t my story to tell,” Nalley said. “It might have been a vessel for me to use to bring joy to the story, but it wasn’t my story to tell.”

Nalley, a senior at The Lovett School, aced the audition and has made it to the coveted “Hollywood Week”, which begins airing Monday, March 31 (Nalley moved onto the next round after this article was published). He’s a southern rock fan at heart who grew up listening to the likes of Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, and AC/DC, and he said he’s excited to share more of his music with the world. 

“As an artist, I’d like to make people feel the music, and feel the emotions that I put into the songs,” he said. 

Being a contestant on “American Idol” has been an amazing experience, but it hasn’t been a walk in the park. Nalley is still in school (which he readily admits has never been his favorite thing in the world), and keeping up with all of his responsibilities has been difficult. 

“I won’t lie to you, it’s a tough balance. It’s finding what you want to do and having to put that as a priority, and school as a priority,” he said. “Because I’d like to graduate high school, you know?

Nalley isn’t sure what exactly the future holds, but as of now, he plans to attend the University of Mississippi for college. No matter what he chooses to do, he hopes this “American Idol” experience will give him the tools to succeed. 

“I think with any big competition, you’ve got to learn a lot about yourself in order to succeed. And that’s not even just the competition. That’s in life, right?” Nalley said. “As somebody who struggles with anxiety, it definitely has its times of challenges. It presents its own challenges with all the great stuff that comes with it.”

Throughout the experience, Nalley said he has learned two major lessons: how to trust himself, and that he’s more talented than he gives himself credit for. 

“I still don’t trust myself on a lot of things, but I’m learning to trust myself, because clearly something went right with everything at the audition,” he said. “Everybody seems to have loved it, so having that boost of confidence really let me know, alright, Slater — you know you can write music, you can sing, and it’s time to own that.”

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Rough Draft Atlanta.