Who is Mario Adrion? Meet American Idol's speedo-wearing model who aced Katy Perry's catwalk challenge

The handsome hunk from Germany turned up in striped red speedos and left judges as well fans in splits
UPDATED FEB 15, 2021
Mario Adrion turned up in speedo for 'American Idol' audition (ABC)
Mario Adrion turned up in speedo for 'American Idol' audition (ABC)

The premiere episode of ‘American Idol’ Season 19 and fourth for the ABC network saw a lot of emotional performances, but then came Mario Adrion, a contestant who turned up in nothing but speedos and white socks paired with white sneakers. Yes, the well-built tall guy showed-off his chiseled body in his very first audition for the singing reality show.

Judges for the show namely Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan were left shocked and embarrassed as soon as the aspiring contender came in front of them. Katy, to be specific, even hid her face with her hands for a few seconds before finally doing a fun ramp walk with the model.
 
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Katy Perry does a catwalk challenge with Mario Adrion on 'American Idol' (ABC)

Who is Mario Adrion?

Mario Adrion is less of a singer and more of a model. The handsome hunk hails from Germany. For his audition, he turned up in striped red speedos, revealing that in Europe speedos was a normal thing as compared to the US. He performed a quirky original track which interestingly had quite a few references to the speedo. Adrion left the judges in splits as he put on a hilarious performance.

After his performance ended, Katy challenged him for a “walk-off” as they then used the studio space for a fun ramp walk session. Lionel and Luke also joined the duo for a fun catwalk session. In the end, he did not get the Golden Ticket for Hollywood but got a thumbs up from Katy for his approach towards life. Adrion has an impressive following on Instagram with 230,000 followers. His Instagram bio reads, “us YouTuber and future American Idol” along with a cute emoticon. He is a successful model and was recruited for NYC Fashion Week at the age of 18.  

Mario Adrion on 'American Idol’ (ABC)


 

'Mario needs to get some clothes on’

Social media also had a gala time as they rushed to Twitter to speak about Adrion’s audition on the show. One user stated, “Not Mario Adrion going on American Idol!!! I’m screaming! I just enjoy his energy! I love it.” One posted, “rigged....he was the best singer.” Another tweeted, “Watch him get famous after this!” The next one asked, “Why mario was in american idol?” along with a bunch of laughing emoticons. 

One user said, “Knew it would be Mario with the speedo, their reaction! #AmericanIdol.” Another added, “I didn’t even notice Mario’s speedo. I just screamed, “OMG! He’s wearing Tretorns!” I love Tretorns. :-D #AmericanIdol,” while one concluded, “Mario needs to get some clothes on.”

'American Idol' (ABC)


 



 



 



 



 



 



 

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