Singer Gets Group Hug from the Judges in ‘American Idol’ Audition
Disney/Eric McCandless Reading Time: 2 minutes
American Idol has shared an early release audition from this Sunday’s new episode of Season 22, featuring Michael Rice. The 26-year-old singer, who previously performed on The X Factor and Eurovision, touched the judges with his emotional performance.
Michael Rice Impresses the American Idol Judges
Michael grew up in England with a single mom, as he shared that his father wasn’t around due to his drug addiction. He explained that they developed a closer bond when he was 17, before his father passed away of a heart attack.
For his American Idol audition, Michael performed “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson. The emotionally raw performance clearly affected the judges emotionally, as they could be seen getting teary-eyed while Michael sang.
The judges gave Michael a standing ovation for the performance, and Lionel Richie brought his fellow judges over to give the singer a group hug. Richie called it a “powerful” audition. Luke Bryan told Michael, “You sang your ass off.”
“We have a lot of people that come in here and tell us a lot of things that are really horrible and tragic,” Katy Perry told Michael. “But rarely do they then follow it up with telling their story through a song that someone else wrote like they wrote it themselves.”
SEE ALSO: ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ SHARES PREVIEW VIDEO AFTER NOT AIRING ON OSCAR SUNDAY
Michael Appeared on X Factor, Eurovision
You might recognize Michael Rice from his past television appearances. In 2014, he wowed the X Factor judges with his Whitney Houston cover. Unfortunately, Michael didn’t make it past the Bootcamp round of the competition.
However, in 2018, Michael won the first season of the UK singing competition All Together Now. The following year, Michael competed in the Eurovision Song Contest, representing the UK with the song “Bigger Than Us.”
The American Idol judges voted to give Michael a Golden Ticket to Hollywood. How far will be make it in the competition? We’ll have to wait and see.
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