Jesse Findling is ready for the spotlight on American Idol. In an early look at the show’s 24th season, the 19-year-old college student from Long Island, New York, was quick to win over judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood.
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Speaking to the trio, Findling revealed that, though he has a stutter, it’s not something that appears when he’s singing. That fact is why he developed a “love for singing” in the first place, Findling said.
With that in mind, Findling said that “walking out with a Golden Ticket would mean that everything I’ve struggled with in the past, it’s all led me here. I can do whatever I want if I work hard.”
After singing Benson Boone’s “In The Stars”, Findling was able to do just that.
Read on for three quick facts about the season’s first Golden Ticket recipient.
Singing Is an Escape for Him
The teen has had his stutter since he was a kid, and it’s something he’s “really struggled with.”
“It was something embarrassing for me, and it was something I really had a hard time with,” Findling said in his pre-taped package. “I wouldn’t raise my hand in school. It was just something that made me feel alone, and something that I felt like I had to hide. It was definitely hard.”
That’s where singing came in.
“Singing has always felt freeing for me, because when I sing I don’t stutter,” Findling said. “When I sing it was a way for me to express myself in a way where I didn’t have to worry about being embarrassed, or what people would think, or if somebody would laugh. It was an outlet for me when I was little, and it’s still an outlet for me now.”
He Wants to Be an Inspiration to His Siblings
Findling first discovered his love for music with his two siblings.
“I’ve been singing ever since I was little with my brother and sister,” he told the judges. “We would pull up karaoke tracks, and we would just sing with each other. Since then, I did choirs in school.”
Findling said that singing is something he shares with his brother in particular.
“Me and brother sing with each other,” he said. “He also has a stutter, so it’s really special when we sing together. I want to be a role model for him, because I knew how hard it was for me in school.”
With that in mind, Findling decided to bring his brother with him to his audition in a special way.
“I’m going to be singing ‘In the Stars’ by Benson Boone,” he said. “It’s a song me and my brother always sing together. I’m going to be thinking of him when I sing it.”
The Judges Are Fans
After Findling’s performance, the judges were in awe, quickly leaping out of their chairs to give him a standing ovation.
“Luke, you jumped up awful quick,” Underwood remarked to her fellow judge, who was quick to explain his praise.
“I don’t think I blinked one time,” Bryan quipped. “Wow. You’re a real singer. Man, I’m really proud of you. I love this show. I love this show because we get to meet kids like you.”
Underwood also lauded the teen, stating, “Your voice is beautiful. You have a beautiful vibrato, a beautiful tone. We could understand everything you were singing. You were in the song emotionally, which just took us right there with you. It was beautiful.”
Richie was likewise impressed, stating, “Problem? What problem? You don’t have a problem. The only thing wrong with you is you gotta figure out how you’re going to navigate this career.”
The judges then invited Findling’s family to come in, with Bryan and Richie giving him quick yeses.
“I think you could go really far in this competition,” Underwood concurred. “We just haven’t had voices like yours coming through those doors. I’m really excited to give you a big ol’ yes.”
Findling emotionally accepted his Golden Ticket, before telling the cameras, “When I was singing that song, I was thinking of younger me who was scared in class, who was worried what people thought about him. The fact that I got this is just proof that everything’s working out how it should.”
American Idol airs Mondays on ABC.
Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
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