Cole Hallman was nervous as he waited his turn to audition for American Idol, but, as usual, he had all the support he needed from his mom and his sister, Katie.
The recent college graduate has been singing since he was about 17 years old, and he already has seven songs on various streaming sites. But even with hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, the person whose opinion matters the most to him is Katie’s.
“She teaches me it’s good to sing your heart out,” Cole said. “It doesn’t always have to be perfect.”
With that in mind, Cole made his way in front of the celebrity judges: Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan.
As Cole gave it his all singing “Lodi” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, the faces of all three judges lit up. Despite his out-of-tune guitar, they couldn’t help but to fall in love with what Perry called his “raw and passionate” voice.
Before the judges gave their verdict on whether or not Cole would be moving on to the next round of the competition, they decided to offer Cole’s biggest fans the opportunity of a lifetime.
As soon as Katie joined her brother, she couldn’t stop smiling! Then, after some quick introductions, Perry had a very important question to ask her: “Do you want to sing? I’ll sing with you as well if you want.”
Even though it was exciting for a huge celebrity to make such an offer, Katie chose to sing with her favorite artist, as usual. The two of them chose their favorite song to sing together, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
As Cole and Katie belted the lyrics together, the confidence in Cole increased dramatically, something the judges were excited to point out.
“Cole, you know, you were singing with your sister and you sang with total freedom and it was so, so good,” Perry said before later adding, “Shed the nerves and just sing like you’re always going to be singing with your sister. That’s where the joy is, that’s where the happiness is.”
Needless to say, all three judges were impressed with Cole’s phenomenal voice and were happy to send him to the next round in Hollywood!
Since his audition premiered, Cole still hasn’t gotten over the excitement of that day – understandably so!
“I’m so grateful for all the love and support I received yesterday,” Cole wrote on Instagram. “It’s all honestly very surreal and overwhelming. Even though I cringed watching myself sing in front of @lionelrichie @katyperry @lukebryan with an out of tune guitar. I know that what really matters is this whole experience is something my family will never forget, especially Katie.”
Watch Cole’s audition below and don’t forget to share.
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