Mississippi native and former top three finalist on American Idol Colin Stough returned to the hit TV show on Sunday, but this time, not to sing.
When Noah Peters took the stage, it was apparent that the 24-year-old out of Grundy, Va., was a bit nervous to perform in front of judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. In response to Peters explaining that he had only ever sung in front of clientele at his barbershop, Perry decided to go an atypical route in getting the best out of the singing barber.
“Do you think you’d sing better if you could give a haircut right now?” Perry asked.
“I definitely would,” Peters confessed.
Fortunately, the producers had it all planned as they wheeled out a barber’s chair. After the three judges declined haircuts with Richie as protective of his mustache as always, the producers were once again ready.
Enter Colin Stough with his hair straight out of Woodstock and to the surprise of his former mentors.
“What is happening?” Richie exclaimed as Bryan quipped, “You do need a haircut! … It’s got a little shine. Have you been putting Mane ‘n Tail on that thang?”
Once the laughs phased out, Stough asked Peters, “So, I take it you can sing and cut?”
“Yeah, but I’ll only do it if you sing with me a little bit,” Peters responded.
The two went with Chris Stapleton’s “Broken Halos” and to the judges’ pleasure, the performance helped punch Peters a ticket to Hollywood and land Stough a free haircut – well, just a trim.
