‘It’s a yes’: Clover teen shakes off nerves to earn American Idol golden ticket
It took two songs and some coaching from the judges, but Clover’s Aiden Adair will move on to Hollywood.
Adair, 19, auditioned in Nashville for the new season of American Idol. Adair’s episode aired Sunday night.
The former Clover High School Choralier shook off early nerves to get three yes votes and a golden ticket to the Hollywood round of the show.
Judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie were the ones singing when Adair entered on Sunday night’s episode. Adair told host Ryan Seacrest that he was “freaking out” but that he’s “just gonna go for it” while the trio sang the Carole King standard, also popularized by James Taylor, “You’ve Got a Friend.”
The show introduced Adair as a Clover pizza cutter. He’s recently moved to Charleston but grew up in York County. In front of the judges Adair said the experience was “completely outside of [his] comfort zone.” Adair then sang “Break My Heart Again” by Finneas.
Richie and Perry approached Adair to help calm his nerves.
“You’ve got everything you need inside of you,” Perry told Adair.
Adair then sang “Let it Go” by James Bay. Adair added some dance moves and earned applause from the judges. Bryan called it a “beautiful moment” as Adair grew by bounds in a short time with the judges. All three judges voted to send Adair to Hollywood.
“We’ll see you in Hollywood,” Perry told Adair.
American Idol airs on ABC. New episodes air Sundays at 8 p.m.
This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 1:29 PM.
