Who is Philip Murphy? Meet the street performer on 'American Idol' who won over judges in the Hollywood round
Philip Murphy had auditioned for 'American Idol' Season 19 with Bill Withers' song 'Just the Two of Us'. While there is no doubt about him being an incredibly talented singer-songwriter, the judges were not quite impressed with his delivery and Katy Perry noted that the performance needed "more inflections" and "more dynamics".
"We want to take the novelty part out of this, which means you’re going to have to shed back a couple of those layers of mystique to let us see more of you," Lionel Richie said asking the distinctive performer to sing another song for them. Murphy then belted out 'The Painted Man' for the judges impressing them with not just the way he sang but also with how it was written. Continue reading below to know about this street performer who has been living life on the road for more than seven years and there's nothing that he would change about it.
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Who is Philip Murphy in 'American Idol'?
Speaking about his profession Murphy said, "It’s what I do for a living, I’m a street performer, and it makes me a fine living. It’s nothing extravagant, but if you work hard you get your daily bread and that feels good. There’s never an unfulfilling day.” Murphy leads a very fulfilling life as he shares his gift with people from across the country and there's nothing that he desires more in his life. "There's never an unfulfilling day. But a man of harder times walked up to me and he told me, 'I don't get to hear music that often. I don't have a cell phone, I don't have internet. I get to listen to you and you are fantastic," he said.
During auditions, Murphy was able to capture the interest of the judges particularly Richie who found the musician interesting even before he sang a line. Murphy had spoken about his encouraging father back then and even when he appeared during the Hollywood round. "My father couldn't sing at all but he always told me I could. He told me you can be anything you want to be and I believed it. It was the largest part of the happiness of my childhood," Murphy said. His father passed away and started working to support himself but he hated it and started busking (street performing) and knew that's what he wanted in life.
He hitchhiked, he walked and even though he does feel that homelessness is tough, that was the life he chose and admitted that he made good money while doing so. Busking was his choice and music had been his savior over the seven years he had been on the road while trying to carve his niche and he wasn't going to stop for anything. You can catch Murphy's Hollywood round performance by clicking on the link below. You can also keep up with him on Instagram, his handle is @blindboymusic.
'American Idol' will now air on Sunday and Monday at 8 pm ET on ABC.