Carmen Lorell Auditions for ‘American Idol’ With ‘Housewife’ Aunt Britani Bateman, Performs Ty Myers Hit

Carmen Lorell Martin, 20, brought a little extra excitement to her American Idol audition, when she appeared alongside her aunt, Britani Bateman, star of Real Housewives of Salt Lake City.

Bateman is not only a well-known name on the reality TV show, but she is also a singer herself. Her musical resume includes hosting her own cabaret show, starring on Broadway, and previously holding a recording contract with Disney after performing on stage at Disney World early in her career. However, her appearance on Idol wasn’t about stealing the spotlight, it was about supporting her niece’s musical journey.

“Britani has always been a very big mentor to me to get out there. She has her own spotlight. She’s living out her dream, and that’s why I’m here too,” Martin explained.

With the encouragement of her aunt, the El Dorado Hills, CA native made her way to the audition room, ready to live up to the high expectations Bateman set for her in front of the judging panel.

The Real Housewives star made her presence known right away as she clinked her wine glass with a knife and excitedly introduced Martin.

“I have an announcement. this is my beautiful niece…”

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She then asked to the judges, “do you know me?” which was followed by was some heavy silence in the room.

“But this is not about me,” she continued. “This is about my amazing, gorgeous, perfect niece who you are about to hear and it’s insane.”

The pair stepped over to the piano where Martin delivered a stunning rendition of Ty Myers’ “Thought It Was Love.” The slow, powerful ballad gave the young singer room to show off her impressive vocal range while pouring out heavy emotions into every note. Her voice was steady and controlled, as she effortlessly relayed the sincerity and depth behind the country track.

Although Carrie Underwood was quick to say she has a “really pretty voice” and a “really great” vocal range, she said she needed to hear a bit more power under the vocals. Hoping to redeem herself, Martin decided to recruit her aunt to help sing another song. Together, they traded verses of “Let Me Be Your Star” from SMASH, their voices weaving together before merging into a series of soaring, high-pitched harmonies that filled the room.

After earning a round of applause from the judges, it was time to hear if Martin did enough to make it through to the next round in the competition.

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Luke Bryan was up first, letting her know that while she was very “present,” he feels as though the piano was holding her back from being able to “cut loose” instead forcing her to be more “proper” in her delivery.

Lionel Richie echoed the sentiment, saying that in order to truly see if she has what it takes to step out of her comfort zone, she needed to be thrown into the intensity of the Season 24 competition.

“The only way to put you in a brawl is to say yes so you can go to the next level and meet the rest of this crazy class and you’ll understand what this means. So it’s a yes for me,” he declared.

After Martin promised to bring the heat with her next performance, Underwood added her own “yes.” Bryan then clinked the wine glass and told her to “come get your golden ticket.”

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Reflecting on the moment afterward, Carmen admitted, “I think today I played it very safe, but they will see the fire that is inside me and they will see me roar.”

Carmen Lorell Martin, her aunt and the rest of the family celebrated the milestone moment and prepared to send the aspiring act off to Nashville for this year’s Hollywood Week.

A new episode of American Idol is set to air next Monday, February 9 at 8/7c on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu.