“American Idol” saved some of Season 23’s best auditions for last during Sunday night’s episode. The evening’s final performer, Canaan James Hill, walked away with this season’s third platinum ticket – but not before causing judge Lionel Richie to leap from his seat.
The Texas teen, who cites his grandfather as his inspiration, performed a crystal-clear rendition of “I Need Your Glory” by gospel singer Earnest Pugh. The song choice aligned with Hill’s hopes for the future; he graduated from high school early to pursue becoming a preacher.
Judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Richie himself were all stunned after the performance, but Richie was particularly moved, and began pacing behind the judges’ table during their evaluation.
“That was something so spectacular, I just can’t even describe what I heard,” Richie said.
“When you sing in church, what do people do?” Bryan teased. “Do they just run to the baptism pit and jump in it, and get saved immediately?”
The judges agreed to send the Texas singer to Hollywood, and awarded him the season’s final platinum ticket. Contestants with a platinum ticket (as opposed to the standard gold ticket) get to bypass the first round of the competition in Hollywood.
“This is a platinum ticket, this means you go all the way to heaven,” Richie joked to Hill. “You get to sit back and watch all the people you’re going to slay. I present this to you from the heavens above.”
Richie, still flabbergasted as he walked away from the audition, uttered “that boy right there was possessed.”
“By the Holy Spirit,” Underwood added.
