Dan Marshall Griffith’s Cover of “The Dance” by Garth Brooks on ‘American Idol’ Sends Him to Hollywood

Season 20 of American Idol is well underway, with the latest round of auditions airing Sunday night (March 21). And, as usual, there were some notable performances from artists looking for their big break.

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Among the many, singer Dan Marshall Griffith stood out to the panel of seasoned judges (Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie). Griffith, a former college football player for Virginia Tech, has been singing for as long as he can remember but only recently made the jump into performing. After singing at his grandfather’s memorial, specifically, Griffith realized that this was a path he wanted to pursue.

So, after introducing himself to the judges, Griffith performed a cover of Garth Brooks’ 1990 song “The Dance.” Griffith credits Brooks and other country powerhouses from the ’90s like Willie Nelson, Randy Travis, George Strait, Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson, and Toby Keith for inspiring his craft.

After his audition, the judges were eager to help Griffith reach his potential. They also decided that Griffith would continue on to the next round of the competition in Hollywood.

“Dan Marshall, you have that storytelling thing, man,” Richie commented. “There’s something you can’t teach and that’s called natural talent and your craft of who you are. I like what I just heard.”

“Sorry, I’m already thinking about marketing you. You know, I was really nervous when you said you’ve only been doing this for five or six months,” Perry admitted. “I do think you have some natural-born talent. I think that you’ve had your family members say ‘oh go do it,’ but to come here to see if the world likes it that’s a huge risk. All you need is support and a little guidance. It’s not there, but the foundation is secure.”

Bryan also threw in his constructive criticism of the artist with a tablespoon of praise for the aspiring artist.

“First and foremost, playing the guitar may be taking your focus away from singing,” Bryan added. “If you make it to the next round, let the big-time pros play the instruments. Man, you’re one of the best-sounding country artists that have been through, but you’re not doing all of the emotion properly. If I had 20-minutes out there to coach you, I could really show you some tricks, you’ll just have to focus on toeing the line the whole way if we’re talking in football and country music tune.”

Stay tuned for more American Idol updates, and watch Dan Marshall Griffith’s audition below.