I did something this past weekend that I hadn’t done in probably 10 or 15 years.
I actually watched an episode of American Idol.
And I gotta be honest, I really only watched to see this guy perform.
A month or so ago, I was in New Orleans eating in the French Quarter and there was a street performer who set up right outside the restaurant. And when the first song he sang was “Silverado for Sale” by Morgan Wallen, followed by Billy Currington’s “Good Directions” and even some Chris Stapleton, as opposed to the usual jazz or blues that you hear on the streets in New Orleans, he immediately got my attention.
The performer’s name was Maurice, and he mentioned that he would be appearing on the upcoming season of American Idol. So I had been following him on Instagram to see when his episode would be airing (and of course it aired after the Oscars, so I had to stay up until midnight to see his audition).
Introducing himself to Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, the 22-year old Maurice told the judges that he had bounced around in foster care around 10 times as a child after he was taken away from his mom who “wasn’t really fit to be a mom.”
The last foster parent that he ended up with was a man named Curtis in South Carolina, a band director who taught Maurice to play and appreciate music.
Maurice explained that in one of his foster homes, they always played country songs – so that’s what he sings. (And he also tried to get some extra points with Luke Bryan by telling him that he gets the most money when he plays Luke’s songs).
For his audition, Maurice went with Morgan Wallen’s monster hit “Whiskey Glasses,” and his performance earned him praise from all three judges – and a ticket to Hollywood.
I know Maurice has quite a few more Morgan Wallen songs in his repertoire, so I’m interested to see what he breaks out next on his Idol journey.
