Carrie Underwood tears up after ‘American Idol’ contestant’s touching song for brother with brain damage
Carrie Underwood was looking for tissues after an emotional 'American Idol' audition. Underwood, who won 'American Idol' Season 4, joined the judging panel of the singing reality show for Season 23, bringing her journey full circle. Throughout the season, Underwood often lets out her emotions on the show, making for heartfelt moments. In one such instance, the Grammy winner was seen tearing up at a contestant's emotional performance for her brother with brain damage.
The contestant in question is Nina Daig, who walked into her 'American Idol' Season 23 audition visibly nervous, admitting, "I'm sweaty, but great." Talking about her upcoming performance, Daig revealed, "Y'all are going to be the first people that I'm singing in front of," explaining she usually keeps her songwriting private. She introduced her original song, 'Average Joe,' written about her older brother Joey, who was born with brain damage due to a lack of oxygen.
Daig described their bond, saying, "I think I'm still learning from him in a lot of ways," and added, "I mean, he's the reason I'm here." Her emotional performance brought heartfelt reactions from the judges, with Underwood visibly moved and nearly brought to tears. She praised Daig's vulnerability, saying, "I think it's very brave of you to come and share not only your voice with us, but your song. Especially if you're not really used to doing that."
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While acknowledging vocal imperfections, Underwood pointed out the emotional impact of Daig's performance. "Was every note perfect? No, but we felt your heart. I feel like you're going to have to work on that confidence a lot. You've got to quiet all the voices in your head saying that you can't and be like, I know better, and I can, and I'm going to, and lay it all out there every single time. And I believe you can. So I'm going to say yes." Luke Bryan also commended Daig's songwriting potential, saying, "To write from that place, it’s how you formulate the beginnings of being a crazy good songwriter, and you've got the voice, and you’ve got the tone. It's just, you hadn't really put all the puzzle pieces together yet, in my opinion," per The Direct.
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Bryan further added, "I mean, I think singing is the right thing for you to be doing. I mean, there were a couple of missed notes, but I'm going to roll the dice on you. It's a yes for me." Lionel Richie also acknowledged Daig's raw talent and songwriting, noting, "To write from that place, it's how you formulate the beginnings of being a crazy good songwriter… The word that kept flashing was 'experience'... Sometimes, by rushing through, you might do more harm than good." Despite his hesitation, he eventually voted yes. All three judges said yes, sending Daig to Hollywood.
As a surprise, Daig's brother Joey also entered the room with family. When Bryan handed him the golden ticket, he grinned and said, "Hey, Joe? You're going to Hollywood." Joey immediately responded with a joyous "Yes." Notably, Daig's Hollywood journey on 'American Idol' received minimal screen time. After her untelevised Arena performance, she was shown in a holding room with several other contestants, all of whom advanced to the Showstoppers round, per American Idol Wiki. Though her showstopper performance was filmed, she progressed to the Head to Heads, where she performed 'I Remember Everything' by Zach Bryan ft. Kacey Musgraves alongside Slater Nalley. Ultimately, Slater advanced, and Nina was eliminated.