American Idol features many hopefuls hoping to get their golden tickets to Hollywood. However, Nashville native Nick Connors has been turning heads on social media for years.
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On TikTok, Connors has more around 650,000 followers and more than 3 million likes. Typically, Connors records himself performing both original songs as well as covers. The singer will likely reach new audiences thanks to his spot on American Idol.
Citing both Whitney Houston and Adele as musical heroes, Connors chose to perform Adele’s “Easy On Me” for his audition on the show.
Connors cites vocal powerhouses like Whitney Houston and Adele as inspiration. He went with the latter artist’s “Easy On Me” as his audition song. Connors’ powerful falsetto impressed judge Katy Perry, but Luke Bryan was a little less impressed.
He said, “I think you may be leaning on falsetto a little much but I really think there’s a lot of interesting stuff you have going on in there.”
Perry praised the singer despite his age. She said, “I think you are young. I think you’re one of our best vocalists. It is a competition so you definitely have to have that passion. I think you’ve got a god-given talent.”
Judge Lionel Richie also offered his praise for Connors. “I think if you found your fighting spirit, if you put your passion to the test and got a little bit competitive and just really trusted your talent you could go to the Top 24 this year.” Richie shared.”You got a natural sound that’s called your sound and boy, did I love it. I just love your voice and things are coming for you.”
‘American Idol’ Contestant Went Viral
Connors is headed to Hollywood, but he previously garnered praise as just a child. He sang the national anthem for the Rockets at 12.
“J.J. Watt was there, and he ran across the court when they were escorting me off of it, and he tapped my shoulder, and I turned around, and I had what they call a ‘priceless reaction,'” Connors told ABC13. “He had tweeted about me, ‘Where can I find Nick?’ and I wanted to, if he ever sees this, thank him.”
Connors also reflects on deciding to pursue his dreams by auditioning for American Idol.
“I just felt like whatever happened it would at least be cool to perform in front of the judges, that they would get to see who I am, especially since I’ve grown up listening to their music. I felt like I had a good chance of getting a golden ticket. You’ll just have to see if that actually happened,” Connors said.
[Photo via American Idol]
