'American Idol' Season 18 Episode 5: Meet Grace Leer, the contestant who almost bailed on her audition
Grace Leer, the contestant who made it to the Top 20 on 'American Juniors', is now back vying for the title of 'American Idol' Season 18.
The new season of 'American Idol', which recently premiered, has reached the end of its auditions. The slew of talented contestants that the series has lined up, makes us excited to see what their Idol journey has in store for them. Judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie returned to their seats alongside host Ryan Seacrest.
Standing out amongst the ones who auditioned on Sunday night, was Grace Leer, a country singer hailing from San Francisco, California. The 27-year-old might look familiar, as she appeared in 'American Juniors' previously and made it to the Top 20.
Starting off, she performed her rendition of 'Crowded Table' by Highway Women. She's got an amazing range. Katy requested her to sing a country song, to which she performs a stunning rendition to Patsy Cline’s 'Crazy'.
After her performance, Katy shared she loved the texture of her voice and Luke likes that her voice is classic. Without a doubt, Grace received three yeses and advanced to Hollywood. With such an amazing voice, one would be shocked to know that Grace almost bailed on her audition.
While she was driving down with her guitarist, Kyle, Grace grew scared of rejection and almost went back home. Taking to Instagram, she uploaded a bunch of pictures of her singing, along with her 'American Idol' audition story as the caption.
"I am going to be very real and tell you that as Kyle and I were an hour away from Milwaukee I wanted to turn around...I literally looked at Kyle and told him, 'Let’s go back to Nashville I don’t want to do this. We can just keep doing our music there. I can’t do this.' But Kyle said, “No, we are not doing that, we are doing the audition and everything is going to be fine'," Grace recalled.
Adding to that she said, "I had so much fear and doubt the closer and closer we got to Milwaukee. FEAR is such a real and powerful thing and it can creep in so fast. But nothing worth doing is done without fear (thanks @caleer). Being a country artist in Nashville and just being an artist in general, it is very vulnerable and scary to do what we do. It is constant rejection, constant wondering if I am good enough, young enough, pretty enough, strong enough, smart enough to make it in this business."
Continuing, Grace shared, "Countless times since I started going after music full force I have cried myself to sleep doubting if I have what it takes and confused if I am even on the right path. I would call my Mom and Dad and cry to them about how I have no idea what I’m doing. But in the end, it all comes down to one thing. I LOVE MUSIC, I LOVE TO SING AND I LOVE BEING ON STAGE. This is what keeps me going. There is no better place for me than on stage with a microphone in my hand, that’s my home. All I have ever wanted to do was make a career out of music and I am hoping @americanidol will get me closer to that goal. I was not going to let a little fear stop me from doing this and doing what I love, so I didn’t."
Grace didn't let her fear stop her, and we're glad she didn't.
Taking to Twitter after her performance, fans affirmed that Grace has an amazing voice. "Grace definitely has the potential to go really far on this show!!! Her voice is great, she's believable, and her name is pretty good, too! ;) #AmericanIdol."
"Grace Leer is also great with singing without an instrument playing. It shows she’s got a great voice. #AmericanIdol," a fan wrote. Another shared, "Holy SMOKES Grace has this older country voice that is incredible. @AmericanIdol."
"Grace Leer either winning or gonna be top 2. Best country singer I’ve ever heard on #AmericanIdol and one of the best singers overall in the history of the show," a fan shared,
Do you think Grace will make it far this season? Let us know in the comments below.
'American Idol' Season 18 airs every Monday and Tuesday night on ABC. Check your local listings for more information.