‘American Idol': Platinum-Winning Pop Singer’s Daughter Scores Golden Ticket With Kelsea Ballerini and Carrie Underwood Covers [Watch]
Season 21 of American Idol premiered on Sunday (Feb. 19), welcoming a slew of new talent and promising artists. Some hopefuls brought their A-game debuting original songs, while others showed off their impressive vocals, incorporating runs and riffs into their performances.
But Lyric Medeiros of Honolulu, Hawaii, took a different approach to try and win over judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie: She handed out Hawaiian Leis before her audition. Medeiros was a ball of energy in the room, but her nice attitude didn’t impress the celebrity cast.
Her performance of Kelsea Ballerini’s “Love Me Like You Mean It” lacked conviction. So much so that Perry stopped the audition to question why she “flew 10 hours to be cute and safe."
"We know you’ve got more than that,” Perry said.
Luckily, the judges allowed Medeiros to sing another song. So, she selected Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats.” Medeiros' second song choice proved weak, as judges felt she was too quiet and didn’t display the emotion of the song's subject matter.
“C’mon. Louder,” Perry said as Medeiros continued to sing while backed by piano.
“Look. This is gonna be really challenging for you. Have you ever made an ugly face in your life?” Bryan questioned as he and Perry took turns trying to give Medeiros an on-the-spot music lesson to see what she’s made of.
Perry then walked over to Medeiros to help pull her out of her shell.
“There it is! There it is!” Perry beamed as she noticed Medeiros’ star potential.
However, Bryan still wasn’t impressed with Medeiros and disagreed with Perry.
“Lyric. You’re too pretty for an ugly business,” he declared.
“I think the only way that you’re going to understand your potential is to put you in a room with some brawlers. So I guess I have to say 'yes',” Richie said afterward.
Perry, who also gave Medeiros a “Yes,” sending the hopeful to Hollywood with a Golden Ticket in hand said, “You’re too polite and too sweet, but I know you’re just putting that on. I don’t think that’s exactly you ... There’s something inside of me that’s like, I’ve got to give her a shot.”
Bryan said, “I think you gotta go get in bars and honky-tonks. I don’t think she’s ready. I’ve gotta say ‘no.’”
Even though Bryan was a firm “no,” Medeiros isn’t a stranger to music. She is the daughter of ‘80s pop star Glenn Medeiros, who keeps a collection of Platinum and Gold records around the house. He is most known for his global hit, “Nothings Gonna Change My Love for You.” And, although her dad was a pop star, Medeiros shares that she has always been drawn to country music.
Perhaps with time, Bryan will come around to Medeiros' shining personality and vocal talent.
American Idol airs Sundays at 8PM ET on ABC.
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