Delco Native Earns Trip To Hollywood On 'American Idol'

THORNTON, PA — A Delaware County native is heading to the big time after he earned the golden ticket to Hollywood on "American Idol."

Luke Taylor brought his baritone voice in front of judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan recently for an audition on the hit singing competition.

The 20 year old from Thornton got his shot by way of his popular TikTok videos. Taylor has more than 2.4 million followers on the social media app and earned them by posting videos of himself singing sea shanties, a popular trend in 2021 on TikTok.

He said representatives for "American Idol" reached out to him after seeing his videos to ask if he was interested in auditioning.

Of course, he took the opportunity.

Taylor's surprisingly deep voice had him standing out among other contestants vying for a chance for fame.

"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest simply said "whoa" when he heard Taylor's voice.

"I went from being 4 foot 11 and singing alto to being 6 foot 1 and singing below bass," Taylor said on the program.

When he appeared before the celebrity judges, they were stunned.

"Oh my goodness, James Earl Jones has walked into the building," Bryan said when Taylor greeted the judges.

After doing a movie trailer spoof with Bryan, Taylor sang Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," which Richie said was an even deeper version than the original.

Despite Perry saying Taylor's uncommonly low voice could be seen as a gimmick, Richie and Bryan gave Taylor their approval, sending him to Hollywood for his next step in becoming the next American Idol.

"I never thought this would happen," Taylor said on the show. "It feels awesome to have this in my hand," he said while holding the golden ticket to Hollywood.

"American Idol" airs at 8 p.m. Sundays on ABC.