“I think you could go very, very far in this competition,” Carrie Underwood admitted.
Baylee Littrell; Photo Provided by American Idol / ABC
Baylee Littrell, 21-year-old son of Brian Littrell of Backstreet Boys, earned a golden ticket to Hollywood with his emotional original song on American Idol.
“Hopefully, I can go make y’all proud,” Baylee told his parents before entering the audition room.
21-Year-Old Son Of Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell Auditions For American Idol
After entering the audition room in front of the star-studded panel of Idol judges (Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan), he introduced himself: “I’m Baylee Littrell, I’m 21 years old, and I’m from Atlanta, Georgia.”
Underwood immediately thought she recognized Baylee and questioned, “there’s something about you that looks familiar.” So, Baylee owned up to it quickly, “my dad is Brian Littrell from the Backstreet Boys.”
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“And you look like your dad,” Underwood added with Bryan joking, “well forgive me, I didn’t have your dad’s posters in my room.”
A video clip played of Baylee talking about his childhood and finding his voice. “I believe I get my voice from dad, and hopefully I can do him justice today. I guess you can say music runs in our family,” Baylee stated. “Dance moves wise, that’s one thing genetically that did not pass down.”
“Following in my dad’s footsteps is scary because his career to me is one of the most extraordinary in music history. No one can ever compare,” Baylee admitted before recalling a time when he was younger and got to open for the award-winning Backstreet Boys, the group known for hits such as “I Want It That Way,” “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back),” “Shape Of My Heart” and more.
“I remember being eight or nine years old and they [Backstreet Boys] sold out this huge arena and I got to open up for them. I just had my two little songs and then I came offstage. Then, when the guys went on, the screams when the lights went down, and I was just mesmerized, and I thought ‘oh my gosh, like what is this,’” Baylee recalled.
“Obviously, growing up in the industry, a lot of people would look at that like such a perk, but it’s not easy… I’ve always told everybody that he’s ten times more talented than I ever was,” Brian said in a video that was displayed before his audition.
Baylee Littrell Sings Original Song, “Waiting On Myself To Die,” On Idol
Baylee Littrell, donning a white Henley shirt and brown pants, then went on to strum his acoustic guitar and belt out the lyrics to his vulnerable original song, “Waiting On Myself To Die.”
“I’ve got an original song for you guys today. This one’s a little bit emotional,” Baylee shared before detailing the song’s meaning. ”This song is about me personally wanting to give up and not giving up yet. Trust me, I wish I wanted to do something completely different, but If I’m not doing music, there’s no way I could really exist.”
The 21-year-old’s performance immediately got the judges’ attention from the first note that he sang. Underwood’s head swiveled to look at Luke Bryan in shock at how impressed she was by his vocal abilities.
“Get me through the golden gates/ I don’t know what to do anymore/ I seem to be all alone in this war/ always by myself with no one by my side/ what to do what to do with my life/ it seems I have no more tears left to cry/ misery takes its time/ I’m waiting on myself to die/ misery takes its time/ I’m waiting on myself to die,” Baylee Littrell sings on the original song’s chorus.
Idol Judges Praise Baylee Littrell’s Audition
His performance earned praise from all three Idol judges.
“You’re really good,” Carrie Underwood gushed with a big smile on her face. “I love the song and that’s a risk too when people come in singing their own songs. That was great, and you went there emotionally, and I think you could go very, very far in this competition.”
Luke Bryan asked Baylee, “does your dad ever sing with you?” to which Baylee replied, “he does.” Bryan then asked if he would invite his famous dad, Brian Littrell, into the audition room to sing the chorus of his original song with him.
Sings Duet With His Famous Father Brian Littrell
The father/son pairing performed the chorus of the song together as the Idol judges watched on.
Underwood continued, “This was not a part of the audition. No, but it’s like for your superstar singer dad to come in here. I feel like for anybody else it would make you look bad, but it didn’t. You were right there with them, You didn’t pale, you didn’t shy away [and] you were like, this is my moment.”
Lionel Richie went on to gush, “I’m very happy for you and very proud of your son. He’s got his own lane and I think you can go a long way. Very happy for ya.”
Luke Bryan added, “I mean, I’m a dad of boys and all you want your boys to do is blaze their own trail and when they want to do the steps and the work, I’m there to help ’em. But it’s up for them to want to go do it. And you’ve obviously took the time to really go hone your skills and your craft. I mean, the second your voice…. Carrie… she looked right at me. She was like, ‘so that’s good, man.’ Congrats and let’s vote it up.”
Earned Golden Ticket To Hollywood
Baylee Littrell’s audition earned three ‘yes’ votes from Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan, resulting in a golden ticket to advance to Hollywood. The moment brought his father to tears in front of the Idol judges.
Following the golden ticket moment, Baylee Littrell’s dad Brian Littrell took to social media as a “proud” dad with a heartfelt message for his son.
“Congrats Baylee Littrell on an incredible premiere on American Idol. I am so proud of you Bubba – can’t wait to see you in Hollywood!!” he wrote alongside the hashtags #GoldenTicket, #BayleeLittrell and #BayleeOnIdol.
The season premiere of American Idol aired on Sunday, March 9 at 8 PM EST.
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