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The rare moment when ‘American Idol’ gave a golden ticket to a metal singer — and then 'cut' him

"They made me cut the song. I was only able to do half of the verse," he said during an interview. 

On March 19, Kobyn Melton, whose stage name is 'Insite,' wowed all three judges, including Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood, with his high-energy metal performance on Korn's 'Freak on a Leash' and a duet with Underwood, on Drowning Pool's hit song, 'Bodies.' However, Melton's run on the show was brief; he was eliminated after his second performance in Hollywood Week, where he sang 'Rooster' by Alice in Chains. Later, in an interview with LoudWire, Melton made some controversial claims, stating that he was eliminated not because of his performance but because he did not fit into 'American Idol's' mold. "They made me cut the song. I was only able to do half of the verse, half of the pre-chorus, and half of the chorus," he told the outlet. 

He explained, "While some of the other contestants' performances were around two to three minutes, mine was cut short to nearly 60 to 90 seconds, with only about 20 to 30 seconds of it being aired. I think by making my Hollywood Week performance look bad, it’s the easiest way for them to get me off the show without it seeming like my audition was a gimmick." When asked if given a second chance, would he choose to sing the same song? He responded, "I’ve performed and practiced 'Rooster' more times than I can count. There are even videos up on my social media where I’ve done 'Rooster,' and it sounds good."

Despite what happened, Melton harbors no grudges towards the show. "Being the first contestant in all the seasons to have gotten a golden ticket doing this kind of music feels like a huge accomplishment to me," he shared with the aforementioned outlet. Speaking of how he got auditioning for the hit singing competition, he said, "I had no intentions of auditioning for 'American Idol' until one of the casting directors randomly reached out to me and asked if I wanted to. After going through numerous Zoom auditions and interviews, I finally got the green light that I’d be auditioning for the judges." He also admitted that performing metal on the 'American Idol' stage was a bold move, which also made him nervous during the audition. 

Even though he couldn't be seen on the show for long, he struck a chord with fans. One fan gushed in the YouTube comment section, "People don't understand how hard those screams are vocally... he blew the roof off... 'American Idol' is not ready for this boy." Another said, "He raised the bar to a new genre of music. Shaking up everyone’s comfort zone." The third chimed in, "The metal gods are with this young man, and about damn time!!!!! Take the bull by the horns, dude."

Fortunately for fans, even after being cut from 'American Idol,' Melton's journey is far from over. After releasing his first single song, 'Breakaway,' produced by Charles Massabo, the 18-year-old has proved that he is here to stay. In an interview with the Naples Daily News, he shared that the song took four to six months to write and was probably revised 30 times because he wanted it to be “near perfect." He also shared that the song's lyrics tell the story of his life's journey until now, from practicing in his garage in Naples to grabbing small shows in Southwest Florida and going on 'American Idol.'”