Exclusive: Nina Howland Didn’t Intend to Pursue Singing. Then She Landed a Tour and ‘The Voice’

Nina Howland grew up in a musical family, but she wasn’t sure that she’d actually pursue a career in performing. 

As the daughter of Tony Award-nominated composer Jason Howland, Nina was always around the Broadway community, but when it came time for her to go to college, she “got really overwhelmed” and didn’t know which path to choose, she exclusively tells BroadwayWorld. 

“I was afraid of not trying anything new in my life, so I didn’t apply to any music conservatories,” she explains, adding that she initially landed at Connecticut College, where she planned to play soccer and study education.

However, after a year, she found herself to be “pretty lonely and sad” knowing that she wasn’t doing what she actually loved. “I applied to Berklee College of Music in Boston and went there and was immediately cured,” she says.

Following graduation, Nina landed a job in marketing at Warner Records, but still felt like something was missing. While perusing auditions, she stumbled upon an open call to perform alongside Hugh Jackman at Radio City Music Hall in his Hugh Jackman: From New York, With Love concert residency — and the rest, as they say, is history. 

BroadwayWorld exclusively chats with the performer, who is in the national tour cast of The Great Gatsby and will be seen competing with Team Kelly alongside coach Kelly Clarkson on this season of The Voice.

Tell me about this audition for Hugh Jackman. What inspired you to say, “I’m going to give this a shot”?
Nina Howland: I had been saying for months, “I’m going to do theater. I’m just going to do it,” and never went to an audition. Then, finally I was just scrolling [through audition listings, and] this really vague open call appeared, and I was like, “I know that song ‘Never Enough.’ I’ll just go and sing it.” I walk into the holding room at Pearl, and all of these girls are dressed to the nines as if they’re at Radio City Music Hall, and I’m in my jeans and my Timberlands, and I’m like, “Here we go!” It was kind of a rip-off-the-Band-Aid moment. I sang the song, and I got a callback in the room and went back the next day, and Hugh was in the room. He was so lovely.

Tell me about getting the call that you got that job.
NH: Actually, I had not heard for three months after the audition, so I kind of moved on. I went back to Pearl for another audition, and I ran into the casting director of the Hugh Jackman [show] in the hallway at Pearl Studios, and he was like, “Oh my God, Nina, congratulations!” And I was like, “For what?” And he said, “You booked Radio City.” And I was like, “Nobody told me!” I was just ecstatic. I couldn’t even believe that this was going to be my first gig.

Was there a moment for you when you said to yourself, “This is what I want to do. I love performing.”?
NH: Yes. It was the summer after I graduated college. I had started working at Warner. I was away for the weekend with my family, and we were having a jam session around the piano, and I went up to sing “She Used to Be Mine,” and I started to cry midway through the song, and I thought, “Whoa, I really, really miss this.” I woke up the next morning, and I was like, “Let’s regroup. What are we doing?” I remember thinking to myself that morning, “I don’t want to be 40 years old and regret not trying.” 

You were then cast in The Great Gatsby national tour. How did that come about?
NH: My dad is Jason Howland, and he wrote the music for the show, which is so amazing, and I’m so grateful to have him as my dad. I got an appointment for a Daisy and Jordan cover. I auditioned for the show six times. I basically went in for every single female role in the show through each audition. That started in October of last year.

Your talent speaks for itself, but did you feel a bit of added pressure, especially when people are labeled “Nepo Babies”? Did you feel like you wanted to be taken seriously?
NH: Absolutely. I definitely wanted to be taken seriously, so each time I walked into the room — even though I knew everybody behind the table very personally — I was not giving off that energy at all. I was very much prepared to do my best work in the room each time I had to go in there. The pressure is on, that is for sure! When I booked the job and started rehearsals, the pressure felt even more. Maybe this wasn’t actually occurring, but I felt like there was a spotlight on me and everybody was watching and making sure I was good enough.

Did you grow up hearing Gatsby come to fruition? Does your dad ever give you feedback now?
NH: I’ve been hearing these songs for the past seven years, so it’s been surreal. My dad is really wonderful because he won’t give it unless I ask. I really appreciate that. But he helps me a lot with auditioning, and he helped me prepare for The Voice blind audition. 

Have you gone on for Daisy in Gatsby?
NH: Yes, I went on in Kansas City, and it was so much fun. I was so nervous. It was a scheduled vacation, so I had notice, which was great. I was definitely very prepared emotionally, but it was so crazy singing these songs for real and not in an audition — singing the songs that my dad wrote — for an audience. It was super emotional. I think I cried during bows. [My family] flew out to come see it. My dad was definitely tearing up a little bit, and so was my mom. 

What made you audition for The Voice? 
NH: In this day and age, exposure is always helpful, so when that came through, I was like, “Wait, I can go on national television and sing my heart out?” So I decided to pursue that post-Radio City Music Hall. They reached out to me through the voice teacher that I was seeing at the time, and I was like, “Why not?” I’m 24 years old, and at this time, I feel like you should say yes to everything. You take every opportunity because you never know where it’s going to lead or who you’re going to meet and the kind of memories you’re going to make. I had never really considered doing a reality television show before, but I must say that The Voice is a wonderful experience. 

How did that work with the tour? 
NH: They granted me a leave of absence from the tour to participate on The Voice, which was so wonderful.

Kelly Clarkson was the first coach to turn around during your performance of Bonnie Raitt’s “Love Me Like a Man,” right? 
NH: Kelly was the first to turn around, yeah. I love her. Honestly, I was like, “What?!” I did a double take. I was just so excited that she turned around, and I know that she loves Bonnie Raitt so much — that’s one of her favorite songs of all time — so I had my fingers crossed.

What inspired the choice to do the Bonnie Raitt song?
NH: I found it really randomly. I was listening to her, and then I found the Kelly Clarkson version, and I was like, “Oh, this is elite.” I thought, “If I want to be on Team Kelly, and I can show Kelly that I can really sing this song, then maybe she’ll choose me.” 

What are you excited for fans to see this season on The Voice?
NH: I do a lot of different genres, so I’m excited for people to see all the different sides of me.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.