'American Idol' Season 22 judge Lionel Richie receives internet wrath for rejecting Dave Fio
SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA: 'American Idol' Season 22 contestant Dave Fio impressed the viewers with his soulful vocals but seemingly failed to impress Lionel Richie. Dave performed 'Save Me' by Jelly Roll and wowed the judges Luke Bryan and Katy Perry during his second attempt.
After the audition, Lionel commented, "What I would recommend is put a little bit more work in, because if you're really going to do this and you've got the voice, you've got the style to make a career out of this." The ABC show judge rejected the contestants and noted, "But I don't want to make you too soon in this because you haven’t discovered your machinery." Lionel's comment forced Katy to ask Dave to sing a few notes again in a different way.
Dave aced the notes and Katy praised his 'solid voice'. She also acknowledged that he had the 'fundamental stuff' needed to excel in the competition. Following the criticism, the viewers took to social media and slammed Lionel for giving a 'no' to Dave. An Instagram user commented, "Great voice and vibe. Judges having problems hearing tonight." Another person added, "Lionel saying no is definitely something lol." Another critic noted, "Seriously cried! Idk what the deal was with the judges!"
Another internet user penned, "I'm going to wager a guess, he's going to not only prove to luke his word but also prove lionel wrong. I actually liked the gravel grit to his voice especially when added to the runs. When katie had him resing the one phrase it was still there slightly but it was there." Another viewer said, "Dave is the best contestant we’ve seen this season. How was it even a debate if he should get a golden ticket???"
Dave Fio drops 65 pounds for 'American Idol'
'American Idol' Season 22 contestant Dave Fio lost 65 pounds and became sober just before his auditions. The ABC show contestant shared with the judges, "One day, my cousin sent me a link and it was like American Idol auditions are coming up and after the videos were sent in, I looked back and I'm laying in bed one night and I seen how I looked." He elaborated, "I had bags under my eyes, face was puffy and I didn’t recognize the person and it was just a switch in my head."
Dave continued, "I thought I'm not going to get on American Idol and take this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and feel unhappy about myself." He then realized he needed to get serious about losing weight and having a healthy lifestyle. Dave added, "So that day, I went sober and I hit the gym and I threw the bad food in the house away and it’s been about 12 weeks and I’m down 65 pounds."
Dave Fio draws a comparison to Jelly Roll
Dave Fio performed Jelly Roll's song and the viewers compared the contestant to the popular singer. Dave also noted during the audition about his song choice that it 'kind of fits my situation'. Luke Bryan also complimented that it was the perfect song choice for him and noted, "First of all, great song choice for you."
Luke further shared, "Your voice naturally kind of is in line with what Jelly Roll does, but I’d like to hear more like just natural singing coming out of you and not leaning on so much of that growl and gravel." Meanwhile, the viewers agreed with Luke and commented, "He reminds me of Jelly Roll." Another internet user penned, "Jelly Roll is going to leave a positive comment."
Another person added, "He’s a young version of jelly roll and I hope Jelly Roll sees this and helps his dreams come true! This guy truly deserves it!"
Catch new episodes of 'American Idol' Season 22 every Sunday at 8pm ET on ABC. The latest episodes will be available to stream next day on Hulu.