American Idol is in the next phase of competition for season 23, and fans are already talking about how one hopeful could make it all the way to the top.
On the March 31 episode of the ABC series, folks got to see Baylee Littrell fight for a chance to move onto the next round of the season. Already making a name for himself as the son of Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell, Baylee impressed judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie during the auditions with an original song he wrote himself. Well, as that method worked for him the first go-around, Baylee decided to dip back into his own music catalog for the Hollywood Week round of competition. But ahead of American Idol airing his emotional performance of his original tune "Hey Jesus," Baylee explained the inspiration behind penning it.
"I wrote this song when I was going through a pretty tough time in my life," he explained in a clip posted on YouTube. "I lost somebody I loved. My grandma [Shirley] was my best friend. With my dad being away on tour, she would always step in. She understood me like not many people do ... I never expected to lose her, so when I did, I questioned everything and I pushed away faith. [I] thought I would not find it again. This song kind of helped me find it."
When Baylee's Hollywood Week performance started going viral online, it didn't take long for viewers to declare something major about his American Idol future.
"Regardless if he wins the show ... He has already won! ❤️," one person wrote in the comments. "I want him to win," another noted. "Baylee Littrell is my only pick to win it all for American Idol," a different follower added.
While it's still going to be quite a while before the winner of American Idol season 23 is crowned, we do know how Baylee fared after baring his soul onstage. He eventually made it to the Showstoppers round of Hollywood Week — and he's thrilled by the prospect of continuing further on in the season.
"Y’ALL!! I made it past the #Idol Arena!" he wrote on Instagram on March 31. "Next up is SHOWSTOPPERS! Tune in next SUNDAY and MONDAY for more Hollywood week on @AmericanIdol!🎤✨ Let’s keep this #BayleeTrain going 🚂."
Congrats, and we'll be tuning in next week to see what happens!
As the entertainment and news associate editor for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
