At just 14 years old, Minnesota singer Brooklyn Marie is already pursuing a dream many aspiring musicians spend their whole lives working toward. After beginning to perform at only three, she has reached the national stage on NBC’s The Voice — but her ambitions reach far beyond becoming a recording artist.
Brooklyn, whose full name is Brooklyn Marie Ostlund, has shared that if music does not become her long-term career, she hopes to become an ear, nose and throat (ENT) doctor. That goal comes from a frightening experience in her childhood, when complications involving ear tubes left doctors uncertain whether she would ever hear normally again.
MPR News+1
Her story is about more than a young singer chasing fame. It is also about how a difficult experience helped shape her desire to help other children and families.
1. A musical journey that began at age three
Brooklyn’s love of music began when she was very young. According to her interview with Minnesota Public Radio, she was singing before she could properly walk or talk. At age three, she stepped onto a stage for the first time at a local telethon in her hometown of Alexandria, Minnesota.
MPR News+1
As she grew older, performing became an increasingly important part of her life. She learned instruments, developed her singing skills and began appearing at local events.
By age 11, Brooklyn was determined to perform professionally. She spent an entire summer practising guitar and building a repertoire of around 100 songs so she could handle longer live performances. She recalled practising so intensely that her fingers began to bleed.
Her hard work helped her secure gigs at wineries, vineyards and other venues. Rather than waiting until adulthood to explore the music industry, she began building real performance experience while still in school.
MPR News+1
2. Her The Voice audition caught the coaches’ attention
Brooklyn’s appearance on The Voice marked a major milestone in a dream she had carried for years. During her Blind Audition, she performed Olivia Rodrigo’s emotional song “traitor”, accompanying herself on guitar.
Two coaches — Kelly Clarkson and Queen Latifah — turned their chairs for her performance. Brooklyn chose Team Kelly, telling the coaches that Kelly had always been her preferred coach. Clarkson praised the teenager’s distinctive vocal tone and the purity of her sound.
MPR News+2
For Brooklyn, the moment was especially meaningful because she had dreamed of appearing on the programme long before the opportunity arrived. Her father encouraged her to apply after seeing how seriously she was pursuing music.
Coming from a small Minnesota town, making it onto a nationally televised competition was something she once considered difficult to imagine. Now, she is balancing the demands of the show with school and her growing musical career.
https://www.dakotanewsnow.com+1
3. The childhood health scare that changed her perspective
One of the most personal parts of Brooklyn’s story involves a medical problem she experienced as a child. She had tubes placed in her ears to help manage recurring ear infections, but complications damaged her eardrums.
Brooklyn recalled that doctors told her family they did not know whether she would ever be able to hear normally again. For a child whose life revolved around music, that uncertainty was frightening.
MPR News+1
Hearing is central to how singers learn melodies, recognise pitch and develop their musical instincts. The possibility of losing normal hearing must have made an already difficult medical experience even more worrying for Brooklyn and her family.
However, the experience also left her with a lasting appreciation for the people who helped her through it.
4. The doctor who inspired her backup career
During her medical treatment, Brooklyn remembers one doctor doing something particularly kind: singing to her before operations to help calm her nerves.
That simple gesture stayed with her. Instead of remembering only the fear surrounding her medical procedures, she also remembers the comfort that someone else’s voice brought her.
It helped inspire her ambition to become an ENT doctor if her music career does not work out. She hopes she could one day help children facing similar fears — and perhaps even keep a guitar nearby to sing to patients who need reassurance.
Brooklyn explained that she wanted to have the same kind of impact the doctor had on her, not only on children but also on their parents.
MPR News+1
Her backup plan is therefore not simply an alternative career. It is connected to a personal experience that helped her understand how frightening medical treatment can be for a child.
5. She is already writing and releasing her own music
Although she is still a teenager, Brooklyn is developing her own identity as a singer-songwriter. She has released two original songs, “Tired” and “i miss u,” and has said she draws inspiration from her emotions and experiences.
She has also spoken about admiring Taylor Swift, whose songwriting resonates with her. Brooklyn often writes down her feelings when something difficult happens, using those emotions as material for her music.
MPR News+1
Her plans extend beyond the television competition. She has been working toward an album and hopes to release more music as her career develops.
She also continues performing at venues and events around Minnesota and beyond. Those experiences give her opportunities to learn how to connect with audiences outside the high-pressure environment of a televised singing contest.
103.7 THE LOON+1
6. A young contestant proving she belongs on the stage
Brooklyn’s journey on The Voice has continued beyond her Blind Audition. In the Battle Round, she competed against Kavi Nyx in a performance of David Guetta’s “Titanium.” The Minnesota Star Tribune reported on October 26 that Brooklyn won the battle and advanced to the next stage of the competition. Clarkson praised her youthful, expressive voice after the performance.
Star Tribune
At 14, she is competing against performers with different backgrounds and levels of experience. But her story illustrates that developing as an artist involves more than vocal ability: it also takes preparation, persistence and the confidence to step onto a stage where the outcome is uncertain.
Her television appearance has also helped introduce her original music and her hometown to a much wider audience.
7. Balancing music, school and a future in medicine
Outside the spotlight, Brooklyn is still a ninth-grade student navigating the ordinary responsibilities of being 14. Reports describe her as a dedicated student who continues her education while performing and developing her music career.
Star Tribune+1
Her story stands out because she is not putting all her hopes into a single outcome. She is working toward a music career while also considering a profession that would let her support children going through difficult medical experiences.
The next challenge on The Voice is Cut Week, scheduled for November 2, when the remaining contestants will compete for places in the live shows. Brooklyn’s progress so far gives her an opportunity to keep sharing her voice with a national audience.
MPR News+1
Whether she eventually becomes a successful recording artist, a doctor or finds a way to combine both passions, her experience has already helped shape what she wants to do with her future.
A dream shaped by both music and compassion
Brooklyn Marie’s journey is a reminder that a difficult childhood experience can influence a person’s ambitions in unexpected ways. Her love of music began when she was only three, but the frightening uncertainty surrounding her hearing also helped her discover another way she might make a difference.
For now, she is continuing to pursue her musical dream on The Voice, learning from her coach and sharing her talent with audiences far beyond Minnesota.
Her story is not just about what happens if music doesn’t work out. It is about a young person who wants to use whatever future she builds to help others feel less afraid.
