Sonny Tennet is ready to make his way across the pond. The U.K.-born singer/songwriter made waves when American Idol shared his show audition ahead of the show’s season 23 premiere.
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Fans already know that Tennet earned a coveted golden ticket from judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, after his successful performance of “Easy.”
But what else is there to know about the talented 25-year-old before more of his Idol journey makes it to TV? Read on for three quick facts about Tennet.
Sonny Tennet Released His Debut Album Last Year
In July 2024, Tennet released his debut album, Panorama. Though it’s his first album, Panorama is not Tennet’s first foray into music. Even though he’s only 25, Tennet has been working in music for more than a decade. He grew up performing alongside his dad at pubs in South Shields.
As for what his music sounds like, in his Spotify bio, Tennet said he was influenced by his parents’ love for musical genres including soul, folk, country, and R&B. He reiterated as much in an interview with Narc Magazine.
“This album represents me as an artist now; it brings out my jokey side in some areas and my deeper side in others,” he said. “… I always want to keep my roots throughout my music.”
Sonny Tennet Already Has a Huge Social Media Following
Tennet may be looking for his big break on Idol, but he’s far from an unknown singer. He boasts 200,000 followers on Instagram and 655,000 on TikTok. Tennet even has 428,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, where he has 70 million streams to date.
On social media, Tennet promotes his music, expresses his love for his girlfriend, and posts funny videos.
“If I wasn’t a musician and doing what I do then I don’t think I’d even be on social media,” he told Cultured. North East last year. “I feel bad saying this but sometimes I hate the whole idea of it. But then look at where I am! Honestly, I can’t thank TikTok and the other social media platforms enough. They’ve opened so many doors for me and, in many ways, it’s like some kind of magic.”
Sonny Tennet Impressed Lionel Richie
During his American Idol audition, Tennet opted to sing “Easy.” Richie wrote the iconic song, which he released with his band, Commodores, in 1977.
As soon as Tennet finished performing, Richie leapt to his feet and gave him a standing ovation.
“I’m going to tell you something. When you’re standing in front of the artist and you’re going to sing our song, the only thing we pray for is, ‘Please God, make it your song,’” Richie said. “You made my song your song. It was beautifully done.”
“Lionel, that means the world, honestly,” Tennet replied. “I’m shaking a bit.”
Underwood and Bryan offered similarly kind words to Tennet. Afterwards, the judges unanimously agreed to give Tennet a golden ticket and send him to Hollywood.
American Idol airs Sundays at 8/7c on ABC.
Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
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