Auditions That Left Judges Undecided on American Idol

Hi. How are you? I'm great. How are y'all? Good. Doing good. What's your name? My name is Laney Grace. I'm 16 years old, and I'm from Prattville, Alabama. Okay. Head inside and wait. Your audition is next. What are you going to be singing for us? I'm going to be singing Honest by Kendall and Steve. How did you discover that? She is kind of a small artist. I discovered her music through my sister, actually, and I was like, what is this song? I love it. Cool. That's cool. Okay. Are you playing? I am playing. Awesome. Wow. Variation. Wow. Every time I walk out of the house, put on another face, just to blend in with the crowd so nobody sees me, you would never believe me. I tell you that I'm old, but I'm still healing. I tell you that I'm happy, but I'm grieving. Thought I was a fighter, but I'm still in the fire. And if I'm being honest, or I'm not being honest, I'll give you roses just hoping you don't see the weeds in my garden. I tell you that I'm old, but I'm still healing. I tell you that I'm happy, but I'm grieving. Thought I was a fighter, but I'm still in the fire. If I'm being honest, or I'm not being honest, I'm sitting here waiting and praying for someone to show me what love is. I'm just being honest. Minus the concentration of trying to play the piano, you have some vocal chops. Thank you. There were a lot of kind of timid things that you were doing that will only improve the more you play out. But I mean, I feel like you have a lot of potential. Thank you. Everything about you is 16, but you have a tone and sound in your voice that's really undeniable. You are by no means ready for this, but I don't think I can fight the urge. Say yes. I think I have to tell her yes. Wow. Thank you. I think it's a not quite yet for me. No, listen. Hey, if I put you through now, I feel like all the other big voices that have been playing out for years, they are going to wash you away. I would rather give you... What if she just did one without the piano? She could just try singing to the top of her lungs. You think she could win this? Like right now we're in... Well, then there's your answer. I mean, it's up to Lionel. We still have one more dog in the fight. I think you've got some real grown up qualities in there I like very much. I might need to hear a little more. Well, the song that you sang, the songwriter, Kendall, is actually here. Now. Right now. Kind of coming up behind you. Right now, kind of walking over your shoulder. Can I hug you? Oh my God. That was so beautiful. Isn't that great? Can you guys sing that together? Yeah. Give her a stool. We got you a stool. Well, first of all, are you auditioning? I'm auditioning today. Wow. And hopefully changing one vote. Yeah. Let's hear you all do it. Yeah. Okay. Project. Fill this room up. Yeah. Sing it to him. Yeah. Come on, girl. Good. Oh, you're so great. Good. Oh, that was so great. What do you think, Lionel? I must tell you, I have Luke's heart. I'm telling you, come back to see us. It's a no from me this time, but that was very, very inspiring. It was. Thank you. Very, very great. Very inspiring. Thank y'all. All right, we'll see you back here. All right. Thank y'all. Y'all have a great day. All right. Thank you. That was great. Thank you, babe. That was incredible. People whisper their theories But I know what happened that day You carved my name in two Crying's no good for me now Life is going on around me But I'm stuck there where you tore me And I'm scattered onto so many pieces And you, you took the good and left me You were sad and I danced all night Forgetting how lonely we must have been You keep the good, I'll keep the use And you wrote that at the ripe old age of 14. Yeah. Ah, Gary, what do you think? You showed us a lot in your voice, and you can go from being small and focused to, like, soaring. And I'm impressed at the song as well. I feel like you've got a lot of artistry in there. Thank you. It's about a breakup, not only the breakup part, but the process after trying to kind of figure out who you are without that person and just... Yeah, it was, you know, it, it, the song certainly did sound like a 14-year-old kind of level of song to me, but, um, yeah, gosh, I don't think she's quite ready. Could I play one that's higher in my verses? I'm just trying to see if Carrie wants to fight for you or not. It's a no from me. Why are you, why are you doing this? I mean, the, my thing is, there's a Taylor Swift-esque quality that she has. One bazillion percent. That it's like, she, she doesn't have these, like, this giant vibrato, like, belty voice, but there's something in there. If she did that at 14, like, she must have a lot of other things in her arsenal that she could bring to the table. So your vote here is... I would roll the dice, because we do have those people that are, like, coming in here, like, guns blazing with attitude, like, owning the stage, sucking us in. Like, that's, that's the, the problem. Yes. But I feel like there's something about her. So your vote is... I voted yes. Yes! Yes! Okay. She got a yes. Well, all right. Congratulations, you. Huh? You won me over and confirmed me. Huh? It's a yes. I will not be an attorney anytime soon. Well, what do you say? You didn't give me three votes. I said no, but I totally agree with you. Oh, you did say no. I talked so long, I forgot what your answer was. And now, the moment of truth. You're going to Hollywood! Oh, my God. After all of that, here she is. Yeah! Your golden ticket. I got it! Oh, my goodness. Well, we know you. What just happened? Hey! Hi. This is Emerson. You want to go sit with Carrie? Can I pick you up? Oh, that's good. Right, you're not shy, are you? No. Did he grow up? That fast? Emerson? No, no. What have I been in the past 10 years? I grew up quick. 15 years. You got some explaining to do. My name is Tate Emmons. I'm 15 years old. I'm from a small town called Lake Mississippi. All right. Mississippi. That's right. About a week ago, I'm doing the Grand Ole Opry again, and he was there, and he's like, I want you to hear me sing, and I was just blown away. I texted immediately, hey, is it too late for an audition? And 20 minutes later... I'm sure you had some people pick up. Got a little cloud, I love that. Right? He's one of a kind, and I really believe in him. Wow. Brianna, why don't you come over here with us? Okay. Yeah, here we go. Come on. I miss you guys. Miss you, baby. How are you? Good to see you. My hands are a little cold. Let's see, cheers. Are you nervous? A little bit. You seem cool as a cucumber. Well, thank you. We ready? Let's do it. What are we waiting on, people? Let's go. Come on, Tate. I'm going to be singing Heartfelt Hallelujah by Brandon Lake. Let's go. All right. Well, I don't always feel it Yeah, but that's when I need it the most So I'ma keep on singing Till my soul catches up with my song There's days that my hands go up freely Times that it calls There's days that a praise comes out easy Days that it takes all the strength I've got But I'll bring my heart forth, heart built Been through it, hallelujah My storm tossed, torn sail No story to tell, hallelujah Oh, hallelujah First of all, I'm really surprised at your guitar maneuverability at your age. Thank you. Can I do an exercise with you? Just let me hear you sing Heartfelt Hallelujah like I mean, I want to hear you give it all on the course, you know. You don't have to play. You don't have to play it. Just close your eyes. Don't worry about the guitar and sing, sing, sing. Worship. So I'll bring my heart forth, heart built In Israel, hallelujah I think guitar, you're perfect, but vocally, it does really, really feel even a little younger than 15 to me, which is a predicament. I understand exactly what you fell in love with because we just saw it. We heard it. It's when do we throw you out there? Our biggest thing is, is all of our mama and daddy hearts are looking at you saying, do we wreck this kid by feeding him to the entertainment industry? I remember a year ago when I came in, I was just like Tate, freaking out. I was so scared. Gotta give him a chance, I promise. I trust you. All right, I'm ready to vote. An environment like this could be really beneficial to you. So this is school. I'm gonna say yes. Thank you so much. I'm gonna go the opposite. I don't want to take your phenomenon and blow you up. I just will not let that happen to you. Come back and look at this again from another angle, a couple of years of experience, and I'd love to hear what you sound like. Thank you. That's just me talking as dad now, okay? Thank you. It's all up to you. No pressure. No pressure at all. I'm pretty nervous. I kinda feel sick. It's gonna be great. It's gonna be good. It's too soon. Okay. I'm a no. Okay. Thank y'all so much. I appreciate y'all listening. I hope you can understand why I'm saying this. I do understand. Yes, sir. I do. I promise. Thank you, brother. I appreciate you so much. And I love you. Thank you. Thank you for your influence. Keep doing what you're doing. Exactly what you're doing. Keep just giving glory where glory is due. It's a true honor to meet you. Thank you very much. Thank you. All right, Tate. My son's named Tate. Really? He's 15. Oh, my goodness. Hey. It's amazing how you're playing that guitar. Thank you. Just you keep doing it. Yes, sir. Thank y'all so much. Thank you. Hey, there, guys. How's it going? Man, it's good to see y'all. Did you earn that uniform? Dude, I was hoping you wouldn't ask. Not at all. I bought it at a Goodwill. What was your name? My name's Jack Blocker. I'm from Dallas, Texas. I'm a graphic designer and an artist. Wow, I got you. Living here in Nashville right now. What you gonna sing today? I'm gonna sing an original. It's called I Was Wrong. Katie has never uttered those words. Never said it? Yeah. All right, let's hear it. All right, cool, cool, cool. I need to ride up through the plains of Texas Far as the eye can see Need to make a million dollars Play the slots and make it three I got this cowboy in my home I gotta let him free Whoa, if I ain't rustling feathers Then I ain't worth being remembered when I leave Well, I was wrong Ooh You have my heart, I have yours And it's all I need and more Oh, I was wrong I need to build myself a castle In the scorching August heat Use the hands I proudly calloused Out there pouring that concrete Ain't no time for taking slow If I'm the hand that beats Ain't much luck for modest bettors Once you die, you can't get debtor Play for keeps Burn the steel and press your leather Never tied up in the debtor's chain and key Well, I was wrong Ooh I was wrong I have yours And it's all I need and more Whoa All right. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right, Jack. Thank you, guys. I think you have a really good sounding voice. I think you're doing some bad habits with the way you're delivering. I don't know if you're doing this intentionally to get out a sound or if that's your signature, but I think that I don't know if anyone's ever told you any of this. Okay. Well, that's why we're here. Yeah. I appreciate it. It felt like a little put on. You were really stretching to catch this note and you can just sing this note and be a little bit more relaxed about it. Understood. Thank you. I just want to let you know that you're such an artist and I just want to put that stamp on you. We know your competition and that's what we're here for. Yeah. Well, I don't know. I kind of think what would Paul Simon's audition have looked like? Good, good. I think it would have looked like what you kind of just did. That means a lot. I liked it. Very good. It was different. I can vote. Good. Go for it. I'm a yes. Thank you. Jack, for Idol, I'm a no, but I appreciate your artistry. Thank you, Kitty. All right, stars above. What the hell stars above mean? Yeah, I know. That's what stars above. Did you just say stars above to kill time? No, I didn't say stars above to kill time. That's why I'm going bass fishing. Okay, all right, okay. It's going to have to be a no for me this time. All right. I appreciate you guys. It's all right. Thanks, Jack. All right, thank you guys. Thanks, man. Yeah. Here comes Jack now. Man, I heard screaming. What was going on? That was close, right? It was close. I think it was close. Right up at the edge. They were on the fence, it felt like. It was close, yeah. I saw something in that boy. You did? Y'all let him go? Can we get him back? We can't get him back. It's too much. Oh, God. Well, good luck, Jack. It was a good experience. Great to meet you, man. Thanks a lot. Tell your mom hi. Will do. See you, buddy. Thank you. Crew. Let's do a crew vote. Crew vote. Really? What did you think? All those that said he was fabulous, raise your hand. I'm willing. I am willing to do this. We've never done it before. Tamra! What is happening to us? OK, OK. That's it. No, no. Bring him. Bring him back in. Bring, no. Bring him back in. I swear to, this is good. Bring that man back in here. Very controversial voting going on. The crew's now in on this. At the end of our vote, the crew, people came from everywhere to say, are you out of your mind? Don't let that guy go. Everybody show of hands who is mad at the judging crew right now. Look at that. Ryan, you didn't even watch the audition. I did. Listen, I watched his mouth. I heard his voice. I listened to the song. I know him inside and out. I know what his mother thinks about this show. You know Jack. I know Jack. Everybody can't be wrong about Jack. Come on. I'm going to change my vote. All right? That's cool. It's a yes, Jack. Unbelievable. Because we are feeling it. All right. Let's start over again. Thank you, everybody. Never in the history. Never. If we had a managerial mutiny against us. Wait. Let's just make it official. One, two, three. You're going to Hollywood. Thank you. There you go. Thank you so much. Congratulations, Jack. Thank you, guys. Thank you very much. Oh, my gosh, man. Congratulations, Jack. Thank you so much. A win for the crew. How are you going to sing? I'm going to do an original song called Need It. And I hope you guys enjoy it. Where do I go? Where do my people go? It's not that bad when you're honest. I feel the breakdown. Let me feel the breakdown right there where you are. But you don't need it. You don't need it anymore. Because when it's raining, if it's pouring, it'll be there in the morning. But you don't need it. You don't need it anymore. You don't. You don't need. No, no, you don't need. No, anymore. You don't need it. You don't need it anymore. Thank you. Appreciate it. All righty. Thank you. You definitely, you got a thing going. When you first started singing, I was like, oh, he's kind of got this like Bob Dylan kind of vibe, this little sprinkles in his voice. But then you've got this kind of gruff thing when you're really pushing. I'm making sense of you right now, trying to figure out what kind of artist you'd be and where you might fit in in this competition. It all boils down to song selection. If you get the right song selections all the way through this, you will have your own identity to this thing. Just be yourself in your vocals. But I think you got something to work with, man. Thank you. I appreciate that, Lionel. Yeah, I mean, certainly you've got a real cool like aura and vibe and spirit. I appreciate that. I still think it needs some work. Oh, yeah. A little bit of polishing up and cleaning up. And I think for American Idol, it might be a little bit of a stretch to carry you through all the rounds of this competition. But let's vote it up. Lionel, what's your vote? I just want to remind him, win or lose, a lot of people saw you. I'd like to give you that opportunity to be seen again. It's a yes from me. I am, I'm a no. Thank you, Mr. Luke. So my worry is that you're going to get to Hollywood and just be thrown in there with all of these other people who are like, I don't know, maybe a little more mainstream and it's going to be like, oh, what am I doing here? I'm trying to think. I need a minute. You need a minute? I need a minute. I'm terrified. He's just wanted this for so long and he's worked so hard. I have a feeling he'll get it, but it's just, I'm just, I just want it for him so bad. So bad. An original song called Fireflies. I wrote this song about a breakup with my boyfriend. We had been friends since the first grade. Our sisters are best friends and so are our families. We go on family trips. And so about two years ago, we started dating, but you know, people grow apart and he went to a different school. We broke up and it was really hard for me. It was, yeah, really hard. Yeah. And I'm sorry. That's okay. He was my best friend, but I realized that everything happens for a reason and God has a plan and I'm really starting to understand that. And this song really helped me get through it. Good for you. Thank you. Are y'all able to still be friends? Kind of. He goes to a different school now, so it's a little hard, but yeah. Well, do you miss the friendship or do you miss him being your boyfriend? I really miss his friendship. Well, does he know that? Probably not. I think time will heal that. Time will heal that. Yes, sir. Telling him will heal it too. Yeah. Or writing a song and singing will heal it. On national television. It really does help. Well, let's hear it. Yes, sir. I think in some ways that the heartbreak is a good thing because I got a song out of it and everything happens for a reason, but sometimes during moments like these, I really miss him. I admit it. I was scared. I've been hurt a bunch of times. Couldn't leave the past behind. But this guy was the sweetest of his kind. And God knows he could have been mine, but I had to go and ruin it. All he wanted was fireflies dancing in the moonlight. His hand felt so good in mine to step in on the truck bed four-wheel drive into the sunset. Promise ring on my left finger said the diamonds only get bigger. Doesn't that sound like a perfect picture? Thank you. Wow. Who'd you write that song with? I wrote it by myself. Wow. I think that you are really talented. Thank you. And that you're a really good songwriter. Wow. And when I was your age, I had boyfriends and was trying to write songs too. My first boyfriend at 16. He dumped me in the parking lot of the guitar center and... Anyways, all that to say, Peyton, it gets better, and so do the songs. It gets better. And if you're doing this at 15, you're on to something. Thank you. I would say keep singing, keep writing, keep singing, keep writing. Try not to give so much energy to the boys, because I did a lot of that. Yes, ma'am. And know that God has a plan for your life. Yes, ma'am. You have a promising future. Thank you. All right, just take the time and grow. But as far as your career is concerned, my dear, sky is the limit for you. You're an emotional person, and that's what it takes to be an amazing songwriter and artist. You are doing amazing stuff far beyond any 15-year-olds. Okay, Peyton, listen. I'm giving you a no based on timing. Yes, ma'am. It's just because you're in the growing phase, and I would hate to pull you out prematurely. I'd love for you to come back. I'd say try it at three years, 18. Yes, ma'am. And you'd have a real shot. Thank you. Lionel? I just looked down at that one five. Girlfriend, if you just go away for a hot moment and come back a little bit more tidied up, I think it'll be a lot better for you. I'm gonna give you a no this time, okay? But then please come back. Yes, sir. Because I want to hear some more of that great stuff. All right. I'm gonna give you a yes. There you go. All right. She don't deserve three no's. Hey, no. You don't deserve three no's. Can we shake your hand? Come here. Good job. Thank you. Yeah. Hold your chin up, okay? Okay. I got a sneak preview, and we love you so much, all right? Yes, sir. And you're gonna be just fine. Yeah, you're gonna be fine. Don't worry. You're gonna be just fine. And if anybody gives you any problems from now on, call me, Luke and Kate, all right? Yes, sir. All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you. You got a family here at American Idol. Thank you. Everybody's waiting, Peyton. You didn't get it? It's okay. All right. I thought I was over, like, crying about it, but just, like, being in there, I'm, like, really nervous. It, like, brings up all your feelings. We do hope you come back. Keep playing and keep working on that. Keep writing songs. You're gonna be a big star. Thank you. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you, too. Good luck, Peyton. Thank you very much. Thanks, family. You take care. It's okay. I'm gonna use what they told me, and I'm gonna work on it, and whenever I come back, I'm gonna be better than what I was this time. My name is Jason R. I'm 24 years old. I'm from Fuquay, Verena, North Carolina. I'm here today to play with the Texas Tailgaters, which is in the Banana Ball Championship League. Might be familiar with the Savannah Bananas. We play with them. It's entertainment baseball is what it is. They'll compare us to the Harlem Globetrotters a lot, but it's very competitive, too. We're all best friends, and we all get along, and it's great. I got into it, actually, as a singer. Outside of the actual games, we'll put on concerts. The whole point is just to keep the fans engaged the whole time and make sure they have fun. Come on, now. I got it pretty quick, though. Awesome, awesome. How did I do? You ought to see me pitch. I think we can make that happen. I'm all good. Heck, I slept on my arm wrong last night and fell asleep for three hours. All right, well, who are you? My name is Jason R. I'm 24 years old, and I'm from Fuquay, Verena, North Carolina. What are you gonna sing for us? I'm gonna sing Fire Away by Chris Stapleton. Love it! All right, you better be able to sing. Yes, sir. I'm right. Well, yeah. Honey, load up your questions Pick up your sticks and your stones And pretend I'm a shelter For heartaches that don't have a home Choose the words that cut like a razor And all that I'll say Is fire away Oh no! And take your best shot Show me what you got Honey, I'm not afraid Rear back and take it And fire away laughs Come on! Fire away Let's go! On fire away Yeah, baby! cheers I want a team. laughs All right, Carrie, you already got the gear on. I do, I do. I'm officially a tailgater. That's right. laughs I think you should go first. Okay, all right, okay. Pass the ball. Sorry, she's, I think the abs. It's very distracting. The abs mess it up. Well, if it's that easy to distract you, I'll just... No, no, no, no, no. No, no, no, no. Luke, don't do that. Don't, uh-uh. All right, all right, all right. laughs All right, so now listen. You've got a nice voice. Yes, sir. You've got a distinguishable voice. And we don't have anything like that yet. Thank you, sir. Okay, I think I've... You calm down now? I got my thoughts together. All right, good, very good. I think my thing is, if you do end up going forward, it's just the taking this part of you seriously. You know what I mean? Like, you guys are obviously so much fun. I love it, and I want to feel you emote. I want to hear more. Yes, ma'am. Good. I used to try to sing everything as loud as I could. It took me years to kind of go, you know, I don't have to sing loud. Every time I can kind of calm it down, so just think about that. All right, Lionel. Yes. Yeah! Come on. That's an easy yes. What are we, what are we, what are we hoping for? The pressure. Oh, look at her. Oh, no, no. Kari, Kari, look over this way. I got my own set of abs to stare at. Hey! Not mine. There you go. Um, I want to know who you are as an artist, so I'll say yes. Yes! Yeah! Oh, no. Hey!