Five Mississippians recently took the state fair by storm when they won American Idol auditions and secured a spot in Nashville for the hit TV show’s upcoming season.
Nicholas Brown, a Pearl native, was one of the winners who will now be chasing his dreams as the 21-year-old was the first to hear his name called at the end of Tuesday night’s auditions.
“It was such a relief, and my dad almost tackled me when we heard my name. I was ecstatic,” Brown said on Good Things with Rebecca Turner. “I had a permanent smile plastered on my face from about 7:30 that night until about 2 o’clock the next morning. I couldn’t go to sleep because it’s such a crazy moment to hear your name called out like that.”
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Brown, who had the crowd buzzing with his rendition of Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine,” was joined by Aurelias Myers, Naomi Taylor, Amirah Washington, and Elijah Middleton as the five advancing to the competition’s next round, ousting nearly 500 initial applicants and 40 finalists.
“There’s a certain level of respect that you get from musicians when you’re in something like this. Everybody that was on that stage – on Monday and especially on Tuesday – all of us deserve to be in that top five,” Brown continued.
Each of the winners was awarded a VIP Executive Producer Audition, which means they are just one round away from going in front of judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. Season 22 of American Idol begins next spring.
Keep up with Brown’s journey by following him on Instagram and TikTok. The full interview can be watched below.
