Who is Madison Watkins? Meet the 25-year-old hair model who wowed 'American Idol' judges with song about her dad

Madison auditioned with an original song and the whole singer-songwriter package helped impress all three judges on the panel
PUBLISHED MAR 15, 2021
Madison Watkins in 'American Idol' (ABC)
Madison Watkins in 'American Idol' (ABC)

Madison Watkins opened the final audition episode of 'American Idol' on Sunday, March 14, night. The sassy curly-haired beauty made her way to Los Angeles for the auditions but this was not her first tryst on a reality show. In 2016, she had auditioned for 'America's Got Talent' but she didn't make it to the episodes. 

She had reportedly performed 'And I am telling you I am not Going' back then and despite the three "yeses" from the judges, her audition was chopped out in the edit. But it seems like she was born to be a star and her dreams are finally coming true with 'Idol'.

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Who is Madison Watkins on 'American Idol'?

Madison is from Fayetteville, Arkansas. The 25-year-old has made a career out of her beautiful tresses and is a hair model but music is something that she was always inclined towards and was her true calling. As seen on 'Idol', Madison did receive the praise she had always dreamt of from three of the biggest musical stars in the country that grace the judges' panel. But her journey wasn't easy and in a video package that aired before her performance she admitted, "there have been so many times that I have wanted to quit." 



 

Supporting her through her highs and lows was her father who also accompanied Madison for the auditions. "I want to make him proud," Madison said. For the auditions, she sang a song she wrote for her father called 'Daddy's Little Girl'. Here are some of the lyrics of this original song, "You never missed a game God forbid the pageants. You would always scream my name even if I was in last place..No words can even say how I feel to know that I will always be your little girl."

The judges were completely enamored by the way Madison had delivered that song. "I love the temper of your voice," Lionel Richie said adding that there have been times in the past where singer-songwriters have arrived at the auditions and performed an original song but none of them hit the nail on its head as she did. "You check every box, singing voice," Luke Bryan said telling Madison that she made the right choice coming to Los Angeles and singing in front of them.



 

In case you missed Madison Watkins's performance you can do so by clicking on the video below. You can also keep up with Madison on Instagram, her handle is madison_watkins.



 

'American Idol' airs every Sunday at 8 pm ET on ABC. 

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