We’ve made it to the top 14 left on American Idol, and 19-year-old Noah Thompson is proving once again that he’s a force to be reckoned with on the show.
The Louisa, Kentucky, native has delivered some stellar renditions of country songs on the show thus far, like “Giving You Up” by Kameron Marlowe, “Blue Side Of The Mountain” by The SteelDrivers, and “Burning House” by Cam.
And as the number of contestants has dwindled to 14, Thompson decided to cover Jason Isbell’s song “Cover Me Up.” Of course, Morgan Wallen’s version is extremely popular as well.
With Noah belting out the powerful lyrics and showing off his impressive range, judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan were visibly moved by the performance.
Needless to say, he’s got the hearts of the judges and voters, so it’ll be interesting to see just how far he makes it into the show.
Check it out:
Morgan Wallen Says He’s Received Some Hate For Jason Isbell Cover
Back in 2019, on night one of Luke Combs’ back to back sold-out shows at Nashville’s Bridegstone Area, Morgan Wallen brought the entire room to a standstill when he performed his version of Jason Isbell’s “Cover Me Up.”
The song has become an instant favorite among Wallen’s fans and, as you might expect, a point of contention from the staunch traditionalists that consider it blaspheme for a mainstream guy like Morgan to cover a song like this.
The other night, before his performance, Morgan addressed that criticism in a lengthy introduction explaining his appreciation for that song, Jason Isbell, and how although there is some hate, it’s been mostly love.
“I always make sure that I say this every night I play it. This is a song that I did not originally write. It’s written by a guy who is one of my favorite artists and one of my favorite songwriters of all time. A guy named Jason Isbell.
And from the moment I heard this song I just connected with it in a way that I have not connected to many songs. I would always be backstage warming up, just getting my voice ready to play a show, not really intending on anybody to hear it, but a few people heard it and they said ‘man, your version of that song is good, you should do your own version’.
I was a bit skeptical at first because I knew I would get some hate for it, and I have, but it’s been mostly love and that’s because you guys so thank you for being so loving towards this. As long as I am able to sing I’m going to sing this song because I love it so much. It’s called ‘Cover Me Up.'”
Ok, now that I have service again I’d like to add 3 things:
– Morgan Wallen gave the song a very good introduction (seen here)
– I’m not saying his cover is bad, it was just really surreal to see in this setting
– despite the reference I really don’t like Stranger Things pic.twitter.com/CquprMrAzq— Dave Paulson (@ItsDavePaulson) December 13, 2019
And, most importantly, some of that love has come from Jason Isbell himself.
It can be so painful to bring a song from your heart into the world then watch it start to fade away after a year or two. I feel like Cover Me Up is very much alive right now and I’m so grateful for that. https://t.co/zZP6vpFf8Y
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) December 14, 2019
Guys it’s really cool that @MorganWallen is singing my song. That’s what I’m trying to say. Everybody just relax. You’re about to have to deal with your family at the holidays. This isn’t a thing to stress over.
— Jason Isbell (@JasonIsbell) December 14, 2019
