Who is Wyatt Pike? Meet 'American Idol' contestant from Utah who gave up business school to pursue music
Wyatt Pike, 20, from Park City, Utah, and his unique musical artistry was lauded by all the judges during the 'American Idol' audition episode that aired on Sunday, March 14. Even though there were a couple of aspects in his delivery that needed improvement, the judges couldn't overlook the fact that he had carved out a niche for himself and was following his own path with his singing-songwriting journey.
In a video package, Wyatt spoke about his parents and sister who support his musical journey. He spent a lot of time performing since fifth grade and his first gig was in the lift lines at the base of ski resorts that are aplenty in the tourist city. Wyatt got into the groove of being a songwriter for the past two years and one of the songs he wrote was for his sister called 'Best for You'.
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Wyatt likes to combine his acoustic singer-songwriter style with structural hints of rock and pop. Some of the artists that have been an influence on his style as a musician include Anders Osborne, Andy Shauf, and Phoebe Bridgers. He was about to start business school classes but withdrew his admission from the College of Charleston, days before he was scheduled to start the academic year. He had decided on pursuing his true passion and continued on the musical path that he'd been on steadily for 10 years, according to the bio section of his website.
Coming back to his 'Idol' auditions, Wyatt spoke about battling anxiety towards the end of high school, an issue that his sister Hazel had dealt with in the past. "A few years ago I had some serious mental health issues and Wyatt was there with me the whole time," she said in the package. "He's just an amazing older brother and I love him so much," Hazel added.
Wyatt auditioned with 'Best for You' because it was important to him to show the judges that he was a storyteller and wanted them to feel the same emotions he felt when he wrote it. "I want more," said Luke Bryan when asked about his thoughts regarding Wyatt's performance. "You are totally cool, totally unique, totally in your own world and your own lane, playing your guitar in your style in your movements. Get comfortable to be forced outside of some of that," he said before adding that Wyatt created "interesting artistic magic" with his performance.
Katy pointed out that his nerves caused him to go faster than the intended tempo but added that it wasn't something that couldn't be improved. Lionel Richie called him Park City's James Taylor and a fabulous story-teller. He added that the only person Wyatt was boxing with was himself and said he couldn't agree more with Luke's comments.
At the end of the audition, Wyatt walked out with a golden ticket. In case you missed it, you can watch his audition by clicking on the play button below. You can keep up with him on Instagram, his handle is wyattpike.
'American Idol' airs every Sunday at 8 pm ET on ABC.
