Who is Cecil Ray Baker? Meet 'American Idol' contestant who Katy Perry called a 'country Justin Bieber'
Cecil Ray Baker's audition is going to air on Sunday, February 28. Audiences can expect to see this countryman rock the auditions and mesmerize the judges with his voice. At just 20, he has an evolved voice and he continues to perfect his craft every day. His musical style and sound are mostly blues, classic rock, country and bluegrass.
Cecil has been actively playing music since 2016. His influences mostly include Alice in Chains, 3 Doors Down, Staind, a lot of the 70s and 80s country singers as well as some modern-day Texas red dirt influences, according to his profile on Bandmix. Before Cecil appears on screen for his auditions on 'Idol', here's what you should know about him.
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Who is Cecil Ray Baker on 'American Idol'?
Cecil is a 20-year-old aspiring musician from Round Rock, Texas. He describes himself as a "humble, unique, and passionate artist" in the bio section of his Bandmix profile. He's a singer, song-writer and his expertise also lies in playing various musical instruments. Over the years, he's gained experience in playing the acoustic guitar, as a background singer, vocalist, and playing the rhythm guitar at various gigs he's performed at. A machine operator by day and a musician by night, Cecil turned to 'Idol' to realize his dreams to be an accomplished musician.
"Dreaming, Drinkin’ and Drowning in these sad songs I write," Cecil's bio on his YouTube channel reads where he has uploaded two videos of the songs — 'Shake the Forst' by Tyler Childers and 'Dear Mom' by Kolton Moore and the Clever Few. The biggest influence that pushed him to pursue music was his father, a rock and roll artist.
"My Dad, my idol was a Rock N Roller and introduced me to being a musician at a young age. Just recently within the last year I’ve really buckled up for what I’m chasing, I’ve not only fell in love with being a musician but most importantly I’ve made it my passion," Cecil wrote on Bandmix.
Cecil performed 'Talking Tennessee' for the auditions. "I think you are absolute perfection. Your voice is distinctive and really good enough to do well in this competition. You may be the best in the male country music slot (in the competition)," Luke Bryan said to the young musician."You are a fireball. You remind me of a country Justin Bieber. He has sold a couple of records," Katy Perry said to him after his performance.
On the personal front, Cecil is a father to an infant daughter named Emilia Jade. He shared a video and photograph of her on his feed with the caption, "Missin' my sweet baby so much.. me and mommy are so grateful :)"
Cecil has no photos with his baby mama, Mariah Lopez, on his page and her Instagram is private as well so their current relationship status cannot be determined as of yet.
Catch new episodes of 'American Idol' Sundays at 8 pm ET on ABC.