Luke Bryan compared this ‘American Idol’ singer to Johnny Cash — and after hearing his story, we get it
Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised
Throughout its 23 seasons, 'American Idol' has welcomed countless aspiring singers with emotional and often heartbreaking stories. In one such instance, a contestant blew the judges away with his stellar voice. However, what truly made his performance all the more impactful was her heartbreaking childhood story. Not only that, Luke Bryan was left so impressed with the performance that he compared him with Johnny Cash, and we can see why.
The contestant in discussion is Season 17's Wade Cota, whose emotional past grabbed major headlines. Cota appeared on the show with his mother, Terri, and opened up about surviving a deeply abusive childhood at the hands of his biological father, per CinemaBlend. In his powerful words, he said, "My real dad, or I'm going to restart that, my biological father was the devil. He beat us. He beat my mom. This scar on my face came from him, and I have a crack in my skull from my eye socket over here."
Conta further talked about the fear and control his family endured, revealing, "He wouldn't even let my mom out of the house with all three of the kids, because he thought she was going to take off, that she was going to leave with the kids. The final straw was she came home from work early, and he was kicking me in the ribs across the floor. It took her two years to be able to get out of the house without him." Cota then explained how his mother eventually made a plan to escape with the children, even offering the father a chance to come along, but he refused.
With tears, Wade shared, "Since that day, I haven't seen him. I'm so happy I have everybody and that we got away from him. I'm happy I was the youngest, because I'm sure they remember a whole lot more." Though his family escaped an abusive father, life didn't become easy. Cota shared that his family endured poverty, but his mother always shielded them from the hardship. Cota further said, "My goals in life are to make my mom proud and give back to her for everything she did."
Talking about his 'American Idol' audition, Wade successfully charmed the judges, even before singing. He told Katy Perry, "I was over 11 lbs when my mom gave birth, all natural." Then, he judges by singing George Ezra’s 'Blame It on Me.' Perry couldn't hide her amazement, saying, "You're really special. You have one of the most unique voices I've ever heard in my life, one of the most unique voices we've ever heard in our lives," as per USA Today.
Country star Bryan echoed the sentiment, saying, "You have your own thing like Johnny Cash does. I hear your voice, and I hear your voice in movie soundtracks." Lionel Richie praised not just the vocals but Cota's transformation onstage, remarking, "I was not expecting that other person to jump out of your body. In this business, we look for character, and you brought me a character. And it's an unusual character because it sounds like you." Notably, thanks to this stellar vocal prowess, Cota advanced to the Top 5 and sang 'You Are the Best Thing,' 'Rocket Man,' and 'Hard Luck Woman' (dedicated to his mom and stepdad), as per American Idol Wiki. However, his 'American Idol' journey was cut short when he was eliminated after receiving one of the lowest vote counts alongside Laci Kaye Booth.