Just beautiful.
Last night on American Idol, Alabama native and worship leader Isaiah Moore auditioned for the three judges consisting of Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and former Idol winner Carrie Underwood, who is embarking on her first season as a judge.
Isaiah has an inspiring story, and was raised by his grandparents for most of his childhood as his mother battled a severe drug addiction. He spoke about how one of his brothers now live with him, and it’s been a “struggle” for many years in terms of his family and home life:
“I have two brothers, but one of them live with me. When he was three months old, me and him were put into the court system, and we were about to go into foster care. It’s been a struggle in my younger years. My mother was deep into drugs. She was in and out of jail a few times throughout my life, but by God’s grace and all his blessings, my maw-maw and my paw-paw took us in.
Man, they raised us the best that they could, and I’m very thankful to have them today, and I’m so glad they’re here with me. Having troubles with my mom, I struggled no getting to see her growing up. as I got older, she trued to do better. I can say today with a happy and joyful smile that she is free from drugs and rehab three years.”
He delivered a beautiful acoustic rendition of Luke Combs’ “Where the Wild Things Are,” which made Carrie and Lionel teary-eyed. Lionel remarked how great his delivery is, saying:
“I felt the passion. I felt the pain. You’re carrying a lot inside, but your blessing is that you can actually deliver it in a vocal that’s touching. I enjoyed your performance. I thought it was just smoking.”
Carrie encouraged Isaiah that his mom has proved it’s “never too late,” and he has a story to share:
“I think your mom has proven that it’s not too late, right? You know, it’s never too late. You have a very powerful voice, you are telling the story, you are connecting with us, which is hard to do. But you did it.”
Bryan added:
“I think there’s a story in that voice. That song kind of showcases a lot of parallels in your life and a lot of people’s lives, so I enjoyed it. Good job.”
Isaiah of course got three “yes” votes from the judges, with his entire family there in-person to witness it (aside from one of this brothers, who he said was supposed to be there as well but is struggling with some of his own issues similar to his mom, sadly). The song was written by Randy Montana and Dave Turnbull, and Luke included it as the third single from his fourth studio album Gettin’ Old, and it has remained a fan-favorite since that album came out.
Isaiah did a great job with this cover, and I have a feeling he’s going to go far on American Idol. Check out his full audition video, it’s simply inspiring:
