Talk about going out on a high note. Chris Tungseth, the final contestant to audition for season 24 of American Idol, wowed with an unforgettable audition on the latest episode of the series.
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Before his audition, the 27-year-old construction worker from Minnesota told the cameras about his past experiences.
Tungseth had an idyllic childhood with an opera singer for a dad and a pianist for a mom, but things went downhill when his mother was diagnosed with MS. Ten years later, Tungseth’s dad was diagnosed with cancer. He died in 2023.
Before traveling to Nashville for his Idol audition, Tungseth visited his dad’s grave and told him, “I hope they see you through me.”
Tungseth decided to make that possibility more likely by performing “Lonely Road,” a song he wrote for his dad, at his audition.
Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Carrie Underwood all had tears in their eyes as Tungseth sang the emotional song.
“I love everything about you,” Underwood told him after the fact. “I love your presence [and] how open you are in the way you talk… and the way you sing.”
“You have an incredible voice. It’s powerful and it’s beautiful. It’s masculine and it’s soft at the same time,” she added. “You kind of have all the things. Just very impressive, the gift that you have to work with, and the way that you work with it.”
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While Richie was likewise impressed with Tungseth’s performance, he was more moved by his outlook of life, one where he considered himself lucky for the time he got with his dad.
“There was a point in my life where I thought, ‘My dad’s dying. My life’s falling apart.’ There was a little aide over in the corner of the hospital. I was talking to my dad, he was in and out of a coma. [The aide] said, ‘You’re very lucky,’” Richie recalled. “I looked at him and I said, ‘What are you talking about? He’s in a coma!’ And he said, ‘I was just thinking, I wish I had a dad to love as much as you have.’”
Tungseth related to Richie’s story, remarking, “It’s a gift to hurt so much, because it means there was something important there.”
Bryan also appeared touched by the circumstances, telling Tungseth, “I had setbacks in my life that put my music career on hold, and I matured and grew up during those years. It’s really perfect to me, doing what you’re doing.”
“I’ve been in the room with Chris Stapleton a lot of times. You’ve got those little vibes going on,” Bryan added. “You’ve got the ability to whisper with soul and turn it up… Don’t be afraid to turn them loose, because we’re going to be there every step of the way, encouraging you.”
All three judges voted to send Tungseth through to Hollywood Week, with Bryan even telling him, “I think you’re going to go really high in this competition.”
“I know my dad would be so happy,” Tungseth told the cameras afterwards. “I know he’d be the first person cheering me on as soon as I walked out that door.”
American Idol airs Mondays on ABC.
Photo by Disney/Eric McCandless
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