Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Slater Nalley of American Idol Season 23

Idol officially kicks off its new season Sunday, March 9. Season 4 champ Carrie Underwood will Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan at the judges’ table.

A sneak peek will air Sunday night on ABC after the Oscars.

Here’s more about Slater:

* He’s a 17-year-old country-leaning singer-songwriter from the Atlanta, Ga., area.

* And he appears on the verge of releasing a debut single, a song called “Foolish Pride.” He has pre-save links on his Instagram page and a snippet of the song posted there.

* Slater attends or attended The Lovett School, an independent kindergarten through 12th grade school in Atlanta.

* He’s been involved in a number of musical productions there, playing the role of the Big Bad Wolf in “Into the Woods” and Willy Wonka in “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”

* According to a 2023 interview in the Lovett school newspaper, his musical inspirations include singer-songwriters Tyler Childers, Jason Isbell and Nathaniel Rateliff.

* Judging from his social media, Chris Stapleton is another of his favorite artists to cover.

* In late 2023, he wrote a song called “Traces of You,” a tribute to Carter Davis, a teen shot and murdered with a friend near a supermarket in Roswell, Ga., in 2016.

* You can check out the song here. Carter’s mom said Slater “read a poem I wrote in honor or Carter and asked if he could work on it a bit. He created an absolutely beautiful song, playing guitar and harmonica paired with priceless lyrics, a gift never expected, but one that my family and I will treasure forever.”

* Turns out, “Traces of You” is the song Slater sings for the Idol judges, while Carter’s mom looks on. Idol leaked his audition Thursday (Feb. 27). His performance brings tears to the eyes of the judges, especially Carrie. And earns Slater a unanimous golden ticket to Hollywood.

* Slater’s developed an impressive following on TikTok with more than 42,000 followers and 1.1 million likes. His most popular covers there are “Jersey Giant” by Tyler Childers and “Something in Orange” by Zach Bryan. Check out the former below.

Slater on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube

@slaternalleymusic Jersey Giant Cover – Tyler childers. Thanks to my friend @lil for the amazing harmony on this song. #country #costofliving #fypシ #thankyou #music #thoughtyoushouldknow #tylerchilders #country #singing #singer @timmytychildersmusic ♬ original sound – Slater Nalley