The concrete swallows the sound, then bounces it back softer.
On the upper level of the West Campus Garage, where wind blows through open sides and headlights flicker against its pillars, Michael Maler leans into a lyric.
His voice drifts upward, fragile but steady, carrying the opening lines of “Fade Into You,” by Mazzy Star.
Students pass below without looking up. A car door slams somewhere in the distance. Still, the song continues, filling the empty spaces of the garage as if it belongs there.
Before the cameras, before the judges, before the flight to Nashville, that is where Maler’s music lived; where the only audience was passing footsteps and the hum of engines.
“I just sit in the parking garage and sing my heart out,” Maler says. “I really enjoy the reverb it gives my voice.”
That habit, quiet and unassuming, would follow him all the way to season 24 of “American Idol.”
His first step into that world happened in September 2025, during the virtual “Idol Across America” open calls for the East Coast. Singing into a camera instead of open air, he delivered the same kind of performance he had practiced alone for years.
More than 100,000 singers auditioned and fewer than 800 were invited to continue, Maler says.
The opportunity arrived faster than he expected. Just months earlier, he had not planned to audition at all.
“I originally didn’t want to,” he says.
Friends and family kept encouraging him to try. After hearing the suggestion again and again, he decided to submit a video.
“One bad day after another, people kept recommending me to try out,” he says. “Eventually I was like, what am I doing with my life? I guess I will try.”
Soon after, he learned he had advanced. Out of the massive pool of contestants, he had been selected to travel to Nashville.
“Being a part of the 800 selected was cool. I felt accomplished,” Maler says.
In-person auditions were held at Belmont University. Maler stayed in Nashville from Nov. 1 to Nov. 7, 2025, moving through multiple stages of the process before reaching the judges. Long before he stepped into the audition room, the work had already begun.
“It was like two meetings a week for three months,” Maler says. “Just talking about it and getting to know you.”
Those meetings help producers shape the stories viewers later see on television. By the time contestants meet the judges, much of their background has already been documented.
“They are trying to figure out who you are and what your stage presence is,” he says. “The judges basically have a whole packet of everything about you before you walk out.”
For someone who had spent most of his life creating music in private, the scale of the competition came as a surprise. Music had always been part of Maler’s life, but it was rarely public. Growing up, he moved often and adjusted to new schools and new environments.
“It was the only thing I ever had in my life that was consistent. I always had a guitar next to me,” Maler says.
Songwriting became a personal outlet. He wrote frequently but kept most of his work to himself. Even his family did not fully realize how much music he had been creating until last year.
“Once they knew, that is when the ‘Idol’ conversations started,” he says.
When he began sharing music more openly, he often practiced in unconventional places. During one of his early meetings with producers, they asked where he usually performed.
“I was playing in the parking garages at Southern, or like the stairwells,” Maler says.
The detail stuck. By the time he reached Nashville, it had become part of how producers understood him.
“So, I was like the parking garage kid,” he says.
That private habit has since turned into a steady routine. Maler says he writes constantly and treats songwriting as a daily practice.
“I write two songs a week. I am always writing,” he says.
Once the auditions began, the pace moved quickly. Contestants advanced through several screening rounds before meeting the celebrity judges. Producers guided singers through waiting rooms, rehearsals and camera setups.
“You go through all the screenings. It is overwhelming and felt like I was there forever, but it was a fun experience,” Maler says.
Each round narrowed the group further. Many of the contestants he met during the process later appeared on television during Hollywood Week.
“Anyone you will see on TV is in here,” he says, referring to a group chat shared by contestants. “All the people you have seen on the show are in that group chat, and it is really cool to interact with them even after the auditions.”
Eventually, it was his turn.
On Nov. 5, 2025, Maler stepped into a room at Belmont University and sang “Fade Into You,” the same song that once echoed through the West Garage. This time, the audience was three judges: Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan.
For Maler, the moment carried an unusual reality. Although he had been writing music for years, he had only recently begun performing in front of others.
“At the time of my audition, I had only started performing maybe a month before,” he says.
After his performance, the judges offered feedback that he describes as honest but encouraging.
“I got told I have a lack of experience,” he says. “I have never played in front of people, so I could not fault them for saying that.”
Still, the critique was not negative. Maler says the judges emphasized that he had clear potential.
“They told me I have talent, the look, the skill, everything I could possibly need,” he says. “They encouraged me to come back next year after I have played in front of people.”
The advice matched what he already understood about his development as an artist. Songwriting had never been the challenge. Performing was the skill he still needed to build.
Since returning home, Maler has shifted his focus toward gaining live experience. Instead of rushing into major opportunities, he wants to become comfortable on stage first.
In recent months, he has been performing small shows throughout the New Haven area.
“I have improved in front of crowds, usually performing in front of 40 people, a hundred people,” Maler says. “It kind of all depends on the venue, but I am working my way up.”
Even though he did not receive a golden ticket to advance in the show, his appearance on “American Idol” has already sparked conversations within the music industry.
“I have been talking to a lot of major producers,” Maler says, including producers connected to the late XXXTENTACION. He also says he has been in conversations with Atlantic Records.
Even with those possibilities, he is careful about his next move.
“I kind of put them in my back pocket,” he says. “I want to perform for a year before I make any big changes. I just want to get comfortable on a stage.”
Part of that patience comes from advice he received from someone who has been through the process before. Maler says he spoke with Nick Fradiani, who is from Guilford.
“When he was 21, he tried to go on the show and they would not even fly him out,” Maler says. “Then he went and played for six years, came back and won the entire thing.”
The story gave him perspective on the path ahead.
“He told me I am already on a better path than he was,” Maler says.
For now, his approach is simple. Write songs, share music online and keep performing live.
Many of his original songs and covers appear on his Instagram page, @michaelmalerofficial, where he posts new material regularly. Maler says his original songs often receive the strongest response, bringing his page more than 100,000 views each week.
Over the next year, he plans to release his first album while continuing to perform throughout the region. His goal is to return to “American Idol” with more stage experience and new music behind him.
“I know I have the talent to achieve it,” Maler says.
