Ryan Seacrest reveals touching behind-the-scenes bond with 'American Idol’s Josh King
Ryan Seacrest is spilling the beans on his special connection with 'American Idol' contestant Josh King! After King faced elimination from the ABC singing competition during an episode that aired on May 5, 2025, Seacrest, the show's host, disclosed how the singer shares a beautiful connection to his charitable work. For the unversed, let us share with you that King made a selfless move in that particular episode. Then, King asked the esteemed judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood to give his spot to the 16-year-old Mattie Pruitt after both of them landed in the bottom two. Eventually, the judges saved Pruitt and sent King home.
On May 7, Seacrest's charitable foundation took to Instagram and revealed that way before King auditioned for 'American Idol,' he was regularly volunteering at the Charlotte’s Levine Children’s Hospital in its Seacrest Studios facility, a multimedia broadcast center that was established in 2013 to allow celebrity guests to interact with the young patients. The Ryan Seacrest Foundation posted a video of a sweet interaction between Seacrest and King and captioned it, “Josh King may be saying goodbye to the @AmericanIdol stage, but his music journey is far from over. When he’s not performing for millions, he’s bringing music, laughter, and light to patients at @LevineChildrens through ‘Tunes at Two’ in #SeacrestStudios. We can’t wait to see where his talent takes him next."
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The video uploaded by Seacrest's foundation showcased a conversation between Seacrest and King that took place when the Charlotte native auditioned for 'American Idol.' Then, King revealed that he began volunteering at the Seacrest Studios in 2017, after his sister faced “complications” that landed her in the hospital. While chatting with Seacrest, King also stated that every Tuesday afternoon, he would visit the patients and perform for them. “I go in, I set my piano up, I’d play for an hour, and we called it Tuesday Tunes at Two. And, you know, you have kids come down from their rooms, and they would watch and listen," King said at that time, as per Entertainment Now.
Then, Seacrest chimed in, “But it gives them something to (help them) forget about what they’re going through.” In his response, King went on to say, “It does, and that’s exactly why I did it." Following that, Seacrest further added, “And they smile and laugh and have fun, and they sing along." At one point, King referred to it as a “very rewarding experience" and told Seacrest, "I enjoyed it so much, just being able to have that opportunity just to do something good for the community." On the other hand, Seacrest lauded King for his efforts and told him, “You’re making a lot of kids and staff happy.”
Soon after, many fans stopped by the comments section of the video shared by Seacrest's foundation and raved over King after being touched by his acts of kindness. One social media user wrote, "Ooh wow!!! This is so amazing, crying happy tears! Josh is so talented and such a kind person! (He’s funny too!) Blessings follow those who bless others. Looking forward to an album in the near future." Another user chimed in, "This is very heartwarming! He’s such a talented, sweet young man. God knows his heart and has good things in store for him!" Followed by a third user who penned, "Ryan, that’s incredible that Josh King is doing that for the children by bringing smiles to their faces and making them forget why they are in the hospital, but I hope he continues doing this."