Kameron Marlowe FaceTimes an ‘American Idol’ Contestant Who Auditioned With His Song [Watch]
Kameron Marlowe had a full-circle moment over the weekend, when he got the chance to offer some encouragement to a young artist just getting his feet wet in a TV singing competition.
It all started with the Sunday night (Feb. 27) premiere of American Idol's highly anticipated 20th season, which delivered a whole new cast of talented contestants. Among the hopefuls auditioning for judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry was Noah Thompson, a 19-year-old construction worker hailing from Kentucky, who earned his Golden Ticket to Hollywood Week with a rendition of Marlowe's "Giving You Up."
After seeing Thompson's performance, Marlowe — a relatively fresh-faced artist himself, who got his start on The Voice and sent his debut single, "Sober as a Drunk," to radio in early 2021 — decided to get in touch. He FaceTimed the young Idol contestant to congratulate him on a successful audition and share his gratitude that a would-be star chose to cover his song.
"This guy right here is the man," Marlowe wrote on social media, along with a clip of the FaceTime call. "He decided to use my song, 'Giving You Up,' as his audition for Season 20 of [American Idol.]"
He then showed video footage of his brief conversation with Thompson, in which he congratulates the young singer, and his friend Arthur, who convinced Thompson to audition for Idol.
For Marlowe, offering the Idol hopeful some encouragement was a chance to pay it forward — when he himself was a contestant on The Voice in 2018, he earned a spot on Team Blake with a cover of Luke Combs' "One Number Away," and was subsequently surprised with a FaceTime call from the country superstar himself.
"He FaceTimed me telling me to not stop playing music and to keep driving so I felt that it was only appropriate to pay it forward and FaceTime Noah!" Marlowe explains. "Go give my man [Noah Thompson] a follow and be cheering him on this season, congrats buddy."
The new season of Idol has just begun. In the weeks ahead, look for more stellar performances, plus new mentor appearances by Jimmie Allen and Bebe Rexha. New episodes of American Idol air at 8PM ET on Sunday nights on ABC.
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