The new season of American Idol premieres tonight (February 18). However, singers have already been auditioning for the judges. 27-year-old Brooklyn, New York native Ajii Hafeez blew Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan away with his cover of “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims.
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Before Hafeez delivered his show-stopping performance, the judges asked him to tell them about himself. He revealed that he is the son of Pakistani immigrants.
Ajii Hafeez Shares His Story with the American Idol Judges
“I’m the front desk/security/intaker. I just protect the building, basically,” he explained. “I love everybody there,” he added.
He then revealed that if it weren’t for his coworkers, he wouldn’t be auditioning for American Idol. He gave a shout-out to his co-worker Claire for pushing him to try out for the show. Then, he explained, “I work the night shift, so nobody’s there. So, I’m just singing down the hallways and she [Claire] heard it. And she was like, ‘Dude, what are you doing here?’”
Bryan could relate. He recalled a college roommate who pushed him into making music.
“Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, you’re exposed to so many beautiful genres of music,” he said. “My family didn’t have the means for music school or anything like that. So, my hometown was my teacher. Everyone is a musician, an artist, and being surrounded by it kept me doing what I’m doing now.”
Then, the American Idol hopeful told the judges about his parents. “Mom and pops, they did right by me and my brothers, man. I’m grateful for them,” he said. “They’re still working, hard-working. I’m here today making them proud.”
He went on to say that his parents taught him to chase his dreams and they did so by example. They emigrated to the United States from Pakistan before he was born. They worked hard and gave their kids a great life.
Ajii Almost Makes the Judges Lose Control
The judges gave Hafeez a standing ovation before they delivered their critique of his performance. “What you’re giving us is raw. But. It’s that diamond in the rough stuff,” Perry said. “This is why we do this show, is people like you,” she added.
“You had me on your opening note,” Richie said. Then, Bryan chimed in to say that he watched Perry get goosebumps within the first bars of his performance. “You are a light,” Richie continued. “Everything you do is so real.”
“You sing like it’s all the line,” Bryan said. “You just let it come from your soul and let it all fly out,” he added. And, you’ve got this humility about you. You need to understand that you’ve got a big chance of going pretty far in this competition,” he added.
Perry agreed, “Top 10,” she predicted.
“Let’s do it! ‘Till the wheels fall off. Let’s go,” Hafeez said.
Time will tell how far the Brooklyn native will go in this season of American Idol.
Featured Image: YouTube
