At the Charlotte auditions for 'American Idol,' tragedy turned to triumph for one contestant and his family. 27-year-old Brian Rittenberry wowed the judges with his performance, while his wife got to fulfill her wish to meet her not-so-secret crush, Keith Urban.

Rittenberry's wife Megan was diagnosed with cancer of the appendix in 2009, and at one point he was struggling with how he was going to tell their son that his mother was going to die. But she is well right now, and that inspired Rittenberry to audition for 'Idol,' saying that he wants to make the most of the second chance the family has been given.

Rittenberry started off with a self-deprecating joke, saying that he sings all the time at home and his wife begs him to go in the basement. "She loves Keith Urban," he said, adding that she had gotten her nails, hair and toes done just in case she got to meet the country star. Outside of the audition room, Ryan Seacrest joked with Megan that Urban was her "hall pass."

Her husband then proceeded to stun the judges with an effortlessly raw, soulful rendition of the Beatles' 'Let It Be.'

"You just have a good light about you, and soul, and it was husky and cool, and your vibrato's cool," Urban enthused. "Other than that, it sucked," he added with a laugh.

With that, all four judges voted him through to Hollywood, and as an added bonus his excited wife Megan got a hug from Urban -- who jokingly told her not to keep her husband in the basement anymore.

More From Taste of Country