'American Idol' judges gawk as Rach Karma headbangs to Dio's 'Holy Diver,' Luke Bryan says 'Shall we pray?'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Rach Lux Karma, the lead singer of the Connecticut metal band, rocked the 'American Idol' tryouts this past weekend and was featured on the show's March 12 broadcast. Sadly, the judges of 'American Idol' felt that it was too much for the show and that her singing style wasn't suitable for the show.
Following the Oscars, the one-hour episode aired Sunday at 11.30 pm on ABC. The day after it airs on ABC, episodes of 'American Idol' will be made available on Hulu and several other streaming sites. Rach told the Courant on Friday, "I did a virtual audition online on a webcam. My guitarist was with me, and we did a song by Paramore, ‘Misery Business.’ It went through five rounds of judges saying yes, yes, yes. Then there’s a lot of waiting. When those auditions ended they told me ‘Look out for an email, we’re not sure where you’ll go yet.’ Turned out to be Las Vegas. That was nice."
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Rach Karma rocked to 'Holy Diver' by Dio
As if they'd never heard a heavy metal singer before, the judges gaped at Rach. And that's despite the fact that she barely screamed. But they acted as if they'd never seen anything like it on the show. They undoubtedly have. Luke Bryan seemed to smell a bad odor. "Shall we pray?" he asked jokingly. Katy Perry said, "No for American Idol. But keep rocking on." Lionel Richie, who also declined, later revealed that he and Rob Zombie are close friends. On one album, they both sang "Brickhouse" together. Luke then asked what the term 'Holy Diver' meant.
Rach Karma is a local metal band vocalist
Rach, who lived in Hartford at the time of the online 'American Idol' auditions but now calls Guilford home, is a native of Newington. She is the lead singer of the metal cover band Evil Twin and the local band NEVERMU, which plays its own unique music. She calls NEVERMU "a theatrical, symphonic Goth metal band" and describes their recent performance as "Rite of Truth" Release the Demons, NEVERMU's first song, was released in January.
With Evil Twin, she performs tracks by bands such as AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Anthrax, Korn, the Swedish death metal group Arch Enemy, and others that are usually performed by male singers.
The yearly Opus Birthday Bash metal extravaganza at Toad's Place in New Haven in January was organized by Rach, a mainstay in the Connecticut metal scene, who also managed the upstairs Lilly's Pad events. She hosted a 'Macabre Variety Show' in October at The State House, another New Haven nightclub, in support of True Colors United and the Human Rights Fund.
Rach's bands will perform in Connecticut on April 15 in the Cellar on Treadwell in Hamden with Evil Twin and on April 22 at Cherry Street Station in Wallingford with NEVERMU.
'American Idol' Season 21 airs every Sunday at 8.pm ET on ABC.