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‘American Idol’ rejected this Grammy winner at 17 and left her in tears — now contestants sing her songs

Maren Morris recalls her failed 'American Idol' and the 'walk of shame' that followed but turns out, she had the last laugh

Maren Morris auditioned for ‘American Idol’ hoping for a breakthrough, but was met with a traumatising experience. In 2019, the Grammy winner appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers and recalled her auditioning days. Morris revealed that she tried to bag every singing competition show that existed at the time: ‘America’s Got Talent,’ ‘American Idol,’ ‘The Voice’ and even ‘Star Search’ when “that was a thing.” Although she was rejected from all of these shows, her experience auditioning for ‘American Idol’ was the worst. The contestants are selected before they are allowed to proceed through the audition round with the judges. “I have a very traumatic and vivid memory of auditioning for ‘American Idol,’” she recalled.

She was 17 at the time, and the audition was held at the Cowboys Stadium in her hometown, Dallas, Texas. Morris revealed that she didn’t get to see judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy Jackson in the first go. “It’s like a stadium cattle call and you audition for like a 20-year-old producer who has like probably no music cred,” she added. Then the aspiring contestants get to sing for merely 8 seconds and sing their hearts out. “My entire group got cut,” she recalled. Morris recalled her 17-year-old self doing the walk of shame, getting out of the parking lot, and looking for her mom. The experience got her “crying” on the way home.

Who knew that getting tuned down on ‘American Idol’ would be the best thing that happened to her? ‘The Middle’ hitmaker not only established her name in the music industry but also earned several accolades honoring her contributions. She has won a Grammy Award, five Academy of Country Music Awards, five Country Music Association Awards, and three Billboard Music Awards. She bagged her first Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance with her debut album, which featured the hit track ‘My Church.’ “I mean, it all worked out,” she told host Seth Meyers, and he seconded it.

Morris also pointed out the silver lining of her traumatic experience on the show. “The poetic justice of that whole thing is that now people, like, audition with my songs on those shows. So, I just get the check in the mail,” she added. As for ‘American Idol,’ it often creates buzz for good and bad reasons. While it has featured some amazing talents over the last couple of years, the show has faced criticism from fans and even contestants. In the 23rd season, fans were angered by the influx of nepo babies who made it through the audition, reaching the Hollywood round.

Baylee Littrell, son of Backstreet Boys' Brian Littrell and singer Carnie Wilson’s 19-year-old daughter, Lola, was among them. The fact that they reached far in the competition got the fans fuming. “I’m sorry I don’t care WHO your daddy is … if you’ve already had a record deal, you should NOT be allowed to audition for ‘American Idol,’” one fan wrote, as per Daily Mail UK. “Nepo babies doing ‘American Idol’ kinda ruins the point of the show,” another X user wrote.