Musician Soars To Top Five Of Her Group In iHeartRadio Competition

Arnold resident and singer-songwriter Hayley Nicole was casually scrolling on Instagram on March 31 when she saw an intriguing post offering musicians a chance to enter the national Next Music Star competition with iHeartRadio.

Nicole competed in “America’s Got Talent” and “American Idol” in the past, but this competition is completed in a much shorter timeframe with all voting online. The winner receives $10,000 and a spot to open for Doja Cat, Gwen Stefani and other musicians during Wango Tango in Huntington Beach, California, on May 10.

“I usually don’t pay much attention to the pop-up ads, but something about this competition caught my attention, mainly because I like the idea of the live music festival,” Nicole said. “To be accepted for the competition, I had to submit videos of me singing, and because I have had a YouTube channel for many years, I knew I had the content to send in quickly.”

And by quickly, she meant immediately. By April 3, she learned that she had been accepted into the competition. By April 10, she learned she was in the top 10 of her group, and by April 17, she was in the top five. Nicole did not make it to the final rounds of voting, though the winner of the competition will be announced May 3.

The 22-year-old has been performing on the local music scene for the last three years. She started playing the piano and guitar while in elementary school, and considers her style as pop, indie and alternative. For the iHeartRadio competition, she submitted two covers, “Teenage Dirtbag” by Wheatus and “Valerie,” originally by The Zutons and performed by Amy Winehouse. She also submitted original music.

Voting was open to the public via the Next Music Star website. Nicole spent every day on her social media platforms promoting the contest and sharing the link to the voting page. She chose the videos to submit based on their popularity on YouTube, but she didn’t expect to skyrocket to the top of voting among 30 groups of contestants.

“It was pretty crazy! There were so many talented musicians and singers in the contest,” Nicole said. “I am really happy with how well I did nationally.”

Though the $10,000 would have been used to promote herself, she’s thrilled she had an opportunity to share her music with a broader audience. The experience has further solidified her desire to be a professional artist. She has been studying music at Anne Arundel Community College and is even more motivated now to focus on music as a career. She is currently a music instructor at Garrett Park Music in Annapolis, and she hopes to one day be a full-time songwriter and performer.

“Songwriting for me is a way to express myself creatively,” said Nicole, who considers Taylor Swift a performer she most admires. “Inspiration is everywhere, and I love creating scenarios in my head based on experiences, books I’ve read, movies I’ve seen, and places I’ve traveled. For me songwriting is storytelling … merging poetry or short stories into lyrics.”

Nicole’s music and upcoming performances can be found on her social media channels: YouTube at @HayleyNicoleOfficial, Instagram at @hayleynicoleofficial, and at linktr.ee/hayleynicoleofficial.