'American Idol' contestant brings his sister with special needs on stage and melts judges' hearts
Cole Hallman, a 22-year-old from Nashville, made his debut on the 'American Idol' stage in season 20. But he didn't come alone. Backstage, Hallman shared about her sister Katie, who had come to the show with him. "She has a chromosomal deletion. It’s just like a small part of her chromosome is not there,” Hallman said during his 'American Idol' interview. “I’m grateful to have her here. She keeps me calm." He also added, “She is my no. 1 fan, but she is also my critic."
The singer first sang 'Lodi' by Creedence Clearwater Revival, which garnered him a round of applause from the judges. Luke Bryan went first: "Interesting! I think you have an authentic voice. You are singing from the right place." He added, "You sang it from the heart." While Katy Perry asked, "You think you hit a bad note at the end?" Hallman replied, "Yes," but Perry assured her, "No, you didn't." She also told Hallman, "You can just hear your heart; your heart is in your voice." Bryan chimed in again, "You sang the whole song with an attitude and a guitar, and Katy Perry didn't throw a penalty flag at you; that means we're all into kind of what you're doing!" Lionel Richie commented, "We may have a place for you in this competition."
When Perry asked Hallman if he wanted to invite his sister and mother on stage before they announced the result, Hallman, without missing a beat, said, "That would be awesome!" But a unique twist came when Perry asked them to sing together as a family. To which Katie excitedly nodded her head. The brother-sister duo then sang the song 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' by the Rolling Stones, melting judges' hearts one note at a time.
The judges even noticed how having his sister changed Hallman's voice on stage. Perry told Bryan, "Now he is singing with freedom." "He is singing with life," added Bryan. When they finished the song, the judges gave them a standing ovation with a golden ticket to Hollywood. Hallman later admitted that he was very nervous ahead of his audition. "The second I heard them talk (the judges), I got even more nervous."
Hallman didn't have a long run on the show, but later in an interview with OnlineDigest, Hallman shared about his experience, “I work at a surf shop, and people will come in and take photos with me. It seems so ridiculous but also so sweet; it’s just funny to think that people are coming in, wanting to take photos with me.” The outlet reported that the singer was contacted by the show itself after discovering him through TikTok, where his videos have gone viral, once with over 8 million likes. In another interview with APP, Hallman was found giving credit to his TikTok fans: "It puts your stuff in front of an entirely new audience, so that’s been helping a lot with a lot of momentum and 'Idol' coming out. There are a lot of good things coming my way. I feel grateful.”
