“American Idol” Season 9 contestant Angela Martin is speaking out in hope of finding her missing mother.
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Angela hasn’t seen her mother since Christmas night, and police in Chicago have launched a search for Viola Martin, whose car turned up abandoned in an unfamiliar neighborhood on New Years Eve.
Angela opened up about her heartbreak over her missing mother on Thursday, telling Billy Bush for Access Hollywood and radio’s “The Billy Bush Show” that she is hanging in there.
“Are you OK?” Billy asked the 28-year-old, third time “Idol” hopeful.
“No, but I’m still standing. Still standing,” she said.
The police and Angela’s family continue to look for her missing mother, and the “Idol” candidate said the family thinks Viola’s disappearance may have something to do with a drug related relapse.
“We want to believe that my mom just had a set back in her drug abuse,” Angela told Billy. “Way back in the day she used to have a drug problem… due to things that happened in her life growing up… When people… think about a drug addiction, they think about something bad — you have to kill or steal for it or do bad things for it, but my mom went to work every day. My mom is a wonderful woman, I just want her to be home and be safe and after everything that’s happened in our family, you know, it probably caused her to have a set back, so that’s what we are thinking.”
There has been a lot of tragedy in Angela’s life. The first time she made it to “Idol’s” Hollywood Week, in 2007, she learned that her father had just been murdered. His girlfriend later confessed and is serving a lengthy prison sentence for the crime.
The second time Angela made it to Hollywood Week, she had to again leave the competition to take care of a traffic ticket for speeding. This year, however, Angela’s third try-out, is her last chance before aging out of eligibility for the reality singing competition.
“It’s just always hope, always hope and you believe,” Angela told Billy of how she feels about finding her mom. “You’re just praying every day and just believing that God is gonna do what he said he’s gonna do, and it’s [to] never leave me, and I know he’s not gonna put more on me that I can’t handle. So, I’m just praying for the best and hoping for the best.”
And Angela has a very important reason to stay in the competition, beyond aging out. Her 10-year-old daughter suffers from a neurodevelopment disorder known as Rett’s Syndrome.
“She keeps me motivated, she keeps me going because [there’s] so much that she needs, she needs all the help that she can get,” Angela told Billy. “I have to provide that for her as a mother and I have to just go out there and I just can’t stop.”
Anyone who has information on Viola Martin is being advised to call 1-800-Crime-TV or go to www.amw.com.
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