‘American Idol': Canadian Singer Cameron Whitcomb Impresses Judges With Waylon Jennings Cover [Watch]
There’s no denying that Cameron Whitcomb wears many hats. He rides Harley Davidson motorcycles. He can do backflips, and he also works 12-hour shifts as a pipeline worker. Now, he has been added to the long list of American Idol contestants after successfully auditioning for the show’s 20th season on Monday (March 21).
The 18-year-old hopeful, who hails from British Columbia, Canada, told judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie that he has never had a professional vocal lesson or performed in a public setting before. Regardless of his confession, he will be heading to Hollywood following his take on Waylon Jennings’ version of “Rock, Salt, and Nails,” written by Bruce "Utah" Phillips.
“Do you have an accent when you sing? I guess we will see,” Perry, who could barely understand Whitcomb's speaking voice, asked before being stunned over the hopeful’s ability to offer plenty of diction throughout his performance.
“Okay, you should definitely do that TikTok challenge where they go, ‘Do I sing like I talk?’ Perry joked afterward. “It’s really different. I mean, it’s awesome! I think there’s something there.”
Despite Perry’s excitement for Whitcomb's voice, her fellow judges expressed concern over his lack of experience as a vocalist and a performer.
“I’m not sure you know what you’re doing, yet,” Luke Bryan told Whitcomb. “Like I don’t think you have any idea what you’re doing.”
“The tone that you have, if organized, it could really be something amazing. But you’re not organized yet. You need time to just put it together,” Lionel Richie added before voting ‘no’ for Whitcomb and telling him to keep on working on his craft.
Perry chose to go with her gut and voted the hopeful on through, with Bryan echoing her sentiments and telling Whitcomb, “I like you for some reason.”
To celebrate his victory of advancing to the next round of the reality TV singing competition, Whitcomb entertained the judges with a backflip before grabbing his golden ticket and exiting the room. American Idol will return Sunday (March 27) on ABC.
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