Signed, Sealed, Delivered: New Hartford native and state trooper advances on 'The Voice'

At 31-years-old, New Hartford native Tom Nitti helped show it is never too late to follow your dreams.

Earlier this month, Nitti, a local trooper for the New York State Police, advanced to the next round on NBC’s “The Voice."

With four judges’ backs to him he sang a song near and dear to his heart, Stevie Wonder's Motown classic “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)”.

“Hands down Stevie Wonder has always been my biggest music idol,” Nitti said.

“My grandparents put me on to music from the Motown era," he said. "I always loved the harmony in those tunes– it's actually similar to country music in that way. From a young age I saw a crossover between the two.”

Blind auditions

The blind auditions were a leap of blind faith for Nitti.

“I walked onstage knowing that no matter what I wanted Reba to turn," Nitti said.

Approaching the microphone he recalled the anxiety weighing on his chest.

“I’d never felt this type of nervousness before – I just couldn’t shake it,” Nitti described.

In his western attire he howled the lyrics, adding a country twang to the 1970’s hit single.

“Coming to the realization that the song was almost finished and no one had turned yet I closed my eyes. I began to focus on the crowd, not the judges.”

Once his eyes were closed, his dreams came true. Reba Mcintire smacked the red button at the last second.

Smiling, she was pleased to see Nitti on the stage celebrating in his cowboy hat.

“Something in my gut said ‘turn your chair around’ at the end and I’m just thrilled to pieces you’re going to be on my team,” McEntire told Nitti during the episodes airing on Monday, Oct. 2.

The other three judges were equally as shocked as McIntire.

“I think that Reba has a sixth sense – she has something in her gut that just tells her, ‘Turn, he’s a cowboy,’” said judge Gwen Stefani.

Nitti said he auditioned to show his children that anything is possible.

“What drove me to audition was my kids," Nitti said. "I wanted to set an example— for them to see, “Dad’s still working his butt off and following his dreams.”'

About Nitti

Following his graduation from New Hartford Central School Nitti joined the military and was deployed to Afghanistan as an Airborne Cavalry Scout.

After taking mortar fire during combat he suffered a serious brain injury and was awarded the Purple Heart medal for his honorable service.

Returning home he followed his fathers footsteps and joined law enforcement to serve with the state police.

“Being able to sing in front of thousands of people has always been my dream," Nitti said. "Once I had kids that changed to wanting to be known locally and serving my community.”

From a young age Nitti performed annually at the Herkimer County Fair. He later advanced to participate in the New York State Fair. His final year participating at the state fair, he faced a contestant who could play guitar as well as sing.

“I noticed how these two skills together accelerated him above me. I went straight to Big Apple music and bought a cheap guitar,” Nitti said.

“With 100 bucks in my pocket I said, let’s do it.”

At 18 years old Nitti taught himself to play guitar, depending solely on Youtube.

“Music is a place for me to take my mind off of my life, my problems– I can step away from life for a second,” Nitti explained.

Appearing locally

He is set to perform locally on Thursday, Oct. 12 at Laufer’s Pub in Yorkville, Saturday Oct. 14 at The Bunker in New Hartford, and Saturday Oct. 28 at Tin Rooster in Verona.

With an uproar in pre-booking requests Nitti noted, "people are crawling out of the woodworks but this attention won’t impact my demeanor or how I carry myself.”

“The people in the Mohawk region genuinely know me. They supported me even before this show, they are such a tight-knit community.”

Watch the blind audition at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=souVDMRJXA0 and tune in to the rest of Season 24 of “The Voice” on NBC and streaming on Peacock to follow Nitti's next steps.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: NBC's The Voice: New Hartford native Tom Nitti advances in competition