History was made during last night’s episode of American Idol when a young woman was brought up to the audition room by host Ryan Seacrest despite her missing the deadline.
Ryan spotted Courtney Timmons, a 22-year-old security guard from Harris Neck, Georgia, sitting outside the building on the stoop, so he decided to make an exception for her and let her perform for judges Katy Perry,Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. Following her pitch-perfect rendition of Andra Day’s “Rise Up,” Ryan’s eyes filled up with tears and Katy proclaimed, “You’re probably the best singer we’ve seen today.” Luke was so impressed that he asked Ryan, “Are you we being punked?”
“Hold on,” Katy interjected. “Before this show started I saw her sitting outside on the sidewalk. I thought you were just kind of a fan of the show. You can sing.”
And Lionel chimed in, “No, no, no. You can sang. There’s a difference between singing and sanging. You are a bird, girl.”
Katy called Courtney’s surprise audition a “magical moment” and then sent her to Hollywood on the spot without even conducting a normal vote.
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