Emotional Tribute to His Brother Brings Judges to Tears

American Idol
9 followers
3 Video Views·Aug 31, 2025
What is that, Alabama?
Is it on-ne-on-ta or one-on-ta?
One-on-ta.
On-ne-on-ta.
We'll find out in five more seconds.
What's up?
What's going on, guys?
Well, tell us who you are, what you do, where you're from, all the things.
My name is Isaiah Moore.
I'm 22.
I'm from Oneonta, Alabama.
Oneonta.
Yeah.
Well, how'd you grow up?
Tell us a little about your family.
Yeah.
I have a brother.
I have two brothers, but one of them lives with me.
When he was three months old, me and him were put into the court system, and we were about
to go into foster care.
It's been a struggle in my younger years.
My mother was deep into drugs.
She was in and out of jail a few times throughout my life.
But by God's grace and all His blessings, my mom and my papa took us in.
Man, they raised us the best that they could, and I'm very thankful to have them today.
And I'm so glad they're here with me today.
Oh, so great.
Having troubles with my mom, I struggled not getting to see her growing up.
As I got older, she tried to do better.
I can say today with a happy and joyful smile that she is free from drugs and rehab for
three years.
That's amazing.
Praise the Lord.
And she is also here with me today.
Ah, so great.
That's right.
I'm so proud of you, my baby.
Thank you.
Love you.
I love you more.
The most important people in my life are here today.
I'm missing one person that I wish was here.
This song goes out to my brother.
He's been having a hard time the past year, I would say.
And, you know, I worry about him.
I love him.
He was supposed to be here today.
I know that he loves me, but I just don't want him going down the same path that my
mom went down.
And so I'm singing this for him.
I think your mom has proven that it's not too late, right?
I agree.
You know, it's never too late.
I agree.
All right.
Let's hear you.
My big brother rode an Indian Scout.
It was black like his jacket.
American spirit hanging out of his mouth.
Just like our daddy.
Kick-started that bike one night.
Broke mama's heart.
Won't hit that headlight west.
Out where the wild things are.
Couple of lines.
He's killing it.
Yeah, well, I knew I had to move back.
Take about a mile.
The end of that summer.
I knew he heard songs about crazy dreams.
Whoa.
Said he did that guardrail.
Half past three.
Lit up those streets.
Never sleep when the sky grows dark.
We buried him out in the wind.
Meet the West Coast stars.
Out where the wild things are.
Got some power in that voice.
Yeah.
Luke?
I think there's a story in that voice.
That song kind of showcases a lot of parallels in your life
and a lot of people's lives, so I enjoyed it.
Good job.
Thank you.
I felt the passion.
I felt the pain.
You're carrying a lot inside, but your blessing is
that you can actually deliver it in a vocal that's touching.
I enjoyed your performance.
I thought it was just some smoking.
Thank you, Arnold.
You have a very powerful voice.
You were telling the story.
You were connecting with us, which is hard to do,
but you did it.
I think we should bring your family in.
Go, go, go.
How many deep you rolling?
There's a good amount.
How are y'all?
Amazing.
Tell us who's who here.
All right, so you got the wife.
Brand new wife.
You got mom here doing good.
You got my papa here, my man that raised me, my father,
and then my mama here.
You're going to make me cry.
She put everything that she had in me all those years.
You got a great boy here.
Luke, you want to kick us off?
I'm a yes.
Thank you, thank you.
You got me crying over here.
Crying just to say the words yes to you.
Thank you, Lionel, thank you.
And I'm going to make that three yeses.
Thank y'all.
You're going to Hollywood.
Thank y'all, thank y'all.
Gotta help get there.
