OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Before the pandemic, Emery Robbins was just another kid in Ocala. He enjoyed the little things in life such as playing baseball and, believe it or not, had no vision of becoming a musician.
When the COVID-19 lockdown restricted things like recreational sports, Robbins said he took it as an opportunity to discover new hobbies. On one particular day Robbins said, “I picked up the guitar and just started learning some new chords.”
Robbins attends Church @ The Springs in Ocala where he was approached by someone at the church’s youth program who asked him if he wanted to play the guitar on stage.
“I started in the corner playing the guitar and just hanging out,” recalled Robbins. He said that he was then asked if he would like to lead some music.
Robbins then began making a name for himself, performing gigs at venues around town, including the Reilly Arts Center, while continuing to perform for his church. After his graduation from Forest High School in Ocala this past May, Robbins continued to pursue music and began posting videos of himself singing on the social media platform TikTok.
Aside from this, Robbins said his life remained relatively tame after high school.
That is until Robbins’ friend and mentor, Matt Overfelt, told Robbins he was going to send in an application for him to become the next American Idol.
“Matt actually sent a recording and he filled out all my information and pretended to be me,” said Robbins.
When Overfelt told Robbins about this, he said he didn’t think anything of it, at first. In fact, he said that he thought it was a joke.
A little while passed when a certain message swooped into Robbins’ inbox. The email was from American Idol informing him to pack his bags and head to Nashville, TN, for an audition.
Robbins said his first reaction was, “What?”
Not long after, Robbins made his way to Music City and auditioned in front of superstar judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
As he walked into the auditioning room, Robbins said the atmosphere was “surreal.” He said, “It genuinely didn’t feel real.” He shared that the judges “look like holograms when you walk into the room.”
For his audition, Robbins performed one of his favorite songs, “Godspeed,” by Zach Bryan. Although it was a song he rehearsed many times, Robbins said he “didn’t have a lot of confidence” about the auditioning process. After performing, Robbins said he took a step back and let the judges decide.
After a short debriefing, Robbins’ performance was deemed more than justifiable of a golden ticket to Hollywood, as he earned a “yes” by all three judges.
It was a massive moment for the Ocala native, who just a mere three years ago hadn’t given music a second thought. Now, he’s joining the best of the best in America for the second stage of auditions in Hollywood. “I’m praying for a lot of confidence just to know that this was somewhere where I’m supposed to be, and this isn’t an accident,” said Robbins.
Robbins said he might be featured on one of the upcoming episodes of American Idol, which airs on Sunday and Monday nights at 8 p.m. Episodes of American Idol can be seen live on ABC or livestreamed with a Hulu+ subscription.
If you can’t wait until Sunday or Monday to hear Robbins perform on American Idol, here’s a cover of him singing “Gratitude” by another one of his favorite musicians, Brandon Lake.