‘American Idol': Mike Parker Puts His Stamp on Morgan Wallen’s ‘Chasin’ You’ [Watch]
Mike Parker was the second finalist to take the stage during Monday night's (April 25) Season 20 edition of American Idol. Making his moment a memorable one, he put his stamp on “Chasin’ You” by Morgan Wallen.
Going into his performance, Parker had three song options to choose from, which were all hand-picked by judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. He selected the Wallen song, reasoning his familiarity with the tune, opting out of singing “Times Like This” by Diane Warren and Darius Rucker and “I Swear” by John Michael Montgomery.
“I saw a song that I was familiar with, and I think that’s why I gravitated towards ‘Chasin’ You,” Parker said in rehearsals.
Even though the 27-year-old country singer from Warrenton, Va., was familiar with the way Wallen sings the tune, he made sure to make it his own. Onstage, accompanied by a full band, he added his soulful vocals onto the lyrics and inserted his groovy style. He also changed up the ending of the original by incorporating some extra vocal notes into the performance.
“[You] did a great job! And, what I loved is [you] did [your] own thing with it. I mean, it was like your soulful version of certainly a Morgan Wallen song, and that was what I was thinking, just being you at that moment with the song, especially with the choices at the end. When you were rehearsing, you didn’t necessarily hit that note well in that falsetto moment, but you nailed it just then. So great job!” Bryan said, applauding Parker afterward.
“First of all, I love the most important part of it, which is that you made it your song,” Richie followed. “Number two, for the first time, I think you were croonin’ my man. I mean, you were settled in on that, and I love the vibe. You gave us show business. You gave us that attitude on stage and that’s what’s so important to sell this career.”
Perry then echoed Bryan and Richie's sentiments.
“I’m just repeating what they said. For me, you just parked that car like so nice, like so perfectly,” she said. “All I want to see is, I miss your cowboy hat. So, if you get to sing next time, I want to see that cowboy hat.”
As with Sunday's telecast, voters were able to vote for their favorite artist during the show. The voting window opened up at the top of the broadcast and ended before the last commercial break, with nearly 19 million live votes cast throughout the evening. Luckily for Parker, his performance was strong enough to send him into the Top 10.
American Idol returns Sundays and Mondays on ABC.