American Idol Season 18 Episode 1: Meet Samantha, the black girl from Harlem with teary eyes and a golden voice
The latest season of 'American Idol' just kicked off on Sunday night, making it the show's third season on its new home, the ABC network, and the 18th season overall for the long-running singing competition. All three judges from the previous year have returned, namely Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. Host and emcee duties have once again been performed by the ever-present Ryan Seacrest, while Bobby Bones reprised his role as a full-time mentor on the show.
The first episode, featuring the auditions of the various 'American Idol' hopefuls, threw up a lot of surprises and some sure-fire finalists with genuine star power. The journey of one of these contestants, near the end of the show, brought the audience (and herself) to tears with her powerful rags-to-riches story.
We were introduced to Samantha Diaz, a young 20-year-old black girl from Harlem, New York. Born in difficult circumstances, Samantha was raised by her grandmother in the Frederick Douglass Projects after her parents abandoned her. But Samantha had a love for music from an early age and took to singing in the subway trains of New York since middle school, recognizing that there was money to be made here, and with it an opportunity at a better life.
Clearly overawed by the occasion when she came to audition for the judges, Samantha, aka 'Just Sam' (her preferred artist moniker), broke down in tears on multiple occasions, confessing that the emotions of the moment were getting to her. But after some hand-holding and emotional support from the judges, the self-confessed crybaby did manage to hold it together and decided to revert back to what she most comfortable doing - singing on the subway.
So Samantha went about her audition as if she was busking on the NY trains for money, and suddenly, there was a magical transformation. The shy, teary-eyed girl disappeared, and in her place emerged a confident, practiced, talented vocalist with a humungous, crystal-clear voice, reminiscent of Fantasia Barrino from the 2004 edition of 'American Idol'.
The judges were hugely impressed by her rendition of Andra Day's 'Rise Up' and said that her voice was breathtakingly beautiful, saying that the struggles she had gone through in the past definitely shone through here in the quality of her naturally-gifted storytelling voice. She even earned a hug from Lionel Richie and endearing words from all three judges, who assured her that she would go far in this competition.
Naturally, Samantha earned herself a golden ticket to Hollywood after that spellbinding performance, and we're certain she is going to be one of the top 10 finalists based on that performance alone. She truly is a star in the making, and one of the most moving success stories on 'American Idol' thus far. We can't wait to see what she will unleash on the world in Hollywood! It's a dream come true for this talented young black girl from the New York projects.