'American Idol' Season 18 Premiere: Garbage man Douglas Kiker's 'precious' act has fans reaching for tissues
Douglas Kiker left viewers emotional after his audition on 'American Idol' Season 18.
'American Idol' kicked off Season 18 with a two-hour premiere on February 16 night, featuring contestants who auditioned for a chance to make it all the way. Returning to the panel were judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. Bobby Bones returned as the in-house mentor with host Ryan Seacrest.
The premiere opens up with a shout out to Season 17 title winner Laine Hardy, and Alejandro Aranda, who was a game-changer last season. Kicking off the auditions in Savanah, Georgia, the judges hope there is still untapped talent left.
First up to audition is Douglas Kiker, a garbage man who has never performed in front of anyone, except the back of the garbage truck. He says he is here to audition for his 2-year-old daughter and show her that he can be someone.
Ok..but how precious is Doug? #AmericanIdol pic.twitter.com/ZWQBIAN8bm
— American Idol (@AmericanIdol) February 17, 2020
Lionel gives him some advice and suggests him to follow Ryan Seacrest outside for a warm-up. After an audition from another hopeful contestant, Douglas returns and performs his rendition of 'Bless the Broken Road' by Rascal Flatts.
He has some issues during his performance, and Katy says she wants to see him perform the song again with more range, but Douglas does not know what that means. So Luke heads over to the piano to help him out. After that impromptu lesson, Douglas really improves a lot and steps up his game.
Douglas doesn't know his own talent which leaves the judges inspired, especially Lionel. Without a doubt, Douglas gets three yeses and is now heading to Hollywood. The judges were not the only ones left emotional and teared up with Douglas' performance and his back story. Taking to Twitter post his performance, fans call him precious and affirm that they were left in tears.
"Doug is SO precious! And SO humble! #AmericanIdol," a fan wrote. Adding to that another said, "I was not trying to cry but On my way! This audition was so genuine and beautiful."
"I just love you guys spirit on here, he definitely deserved another chance and he is so humble and genuine," a fan wrote. While another shared, "It’s impossible to not love Douglas after hearing his story and his amazing voice! He seems like such a nice guy."
"Moment like Douglas’ are what make #AmericanIdol! Some people enjoy it for the negatives... I watch to see dreams come true!" a fan wrote. Adding to that another said, "#AmericanIdol Douglas could be the biggest idol transformation in the shows history. He’s got it! Dig deep and let it out Douglas. Can’t wait to see what u can do next."
"KATY CRYING IM CRYING DOUGLAS WAS SO GOOD IM SO HAPPY FIR HIM AWWW #AmericanIdol," a fan wrote.
'American Idol' Season 18 airs every Sunday night only on ABC. Check your local listings for more information.
