“Love the song about halfway through the first verse, I said I had to open my eyes and go, is that you Dolly?” Richie said.
Aniston Pate; Photo Courtesy of American Idol via ABC
American Idol judges, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, were quick to compare 20-year-old Aniston Pate‘s vocal and songwriting abilities to country music legend Dolly Parton after her impressive Idol audition.
Performed An Original Song, “Hummingbird”
The Dalhart, Texas native, who is a John Deere tractor driver, delivered an unforgettable performance of an original song, titled “Hummingbird.” Before Pate took the stage, she revealed that she co-wrote the song with her friend Davis and shared how her mother served as the inspiration for the tune.
“I’m going to be singing ‘Hummingbird’ that I wrote with my friend Davis Luce. It’s about my mama. I know you love your mama. So this is about my mom and she in the car when she was driving me to school, and she was always humming and that’s what this song’s about,” Pate told the judges as she prepared to showcase her talents.
While strumming an acoustic guitar, Aniston Pate went on to deliver an impressive performance of her original song that she wrote for her mother, Shannon.
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“People always ask where I learned to sing/ If you ask her, she’d say, it wasn’t me/ but it was kitchen counter sitting, listening while she cleaned the dishes/ She was picking up my mess with a melody/ driving me to school, playing burnt CDs/ humming every line/ Wish I could press rewind/ She’s hummingbird flying a million miles a minute/ Just a make sure her baby gets where I need a getting/ telling me to spread my wings/ leaving the singing to me/ I wouldn’t be here without her/ mama, my hummingbird/ she swears she can’t carry a tune in a bucket/ but man, you ought to hear her humming/ She’s my hummingbird/ flying a million miles a minute/ just to make sure her baby gets where I need to be gettin/ Telling me to spread my wings/ leaving the singing to me/ I wouldn’t be here without her/ Mama, my hummingbird,” Pate sang.
American Idol Judges Dub Pate A Modern Day Dolly Parton
Following her memorable audition, the Idol judges praised her original song and provided comments on her performance.
“That’s a great one…. really good,” Bryan gushed, before offering Pate some songwriting advice. “I got like four things I want to tell her to do to it, but did you ever think about my mama, my hummingbird,” Bryan said. “I’ve never done this to a song…. I love the song, and I love that melody in the middle of the chorus. It was great.”
Richie continued, “Love the song about halfway through the first verse, I said I had to open my eyes and go, is that you Dolly? But only in the way Dolly tells stories. It was very honest, solid and natural and positivity.”
“I mean, oh my gosh. It did have a little of that,” Perry chimed in before praising her talents. “I thought it was a good song. You’re on your way to being a great songwriter in Nashville, but I do think you were thrown away some of the opportunity for holding out notes. You can deliver lyrics in a very intimate way while still demand having power, and you don’t always have to drive a tractor. You can drive a Mini Cooper, You know what I’m saying? And still buzz around.”
Aniston Pate graciously thanked the Idol judges for the compliments in a state of shock, saying, “This is so crazy, guys. Thank you.”
Ultimately, the young Idol contestant earned three ‘yes’ votes from Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, securing a golden ticket to Hollywood week.
Aniston Pate Shared A Special Moment With Luke Bryan
Aniston Pate also shared an off camera moment with the Luke Bryan, which he shared on Instagram. The American Idol judge and contestant pairing joined forces for a cover of Shenandoah’s “The Church on Cumberland Road,” according to a post on Bryan’s social media. However, the special moment didn’t air on TV.
The clip on Luke Bryan’s Instagram featured Bryan playing an acoustic guitar as he and Aniston Pate belted out the lyric to the country hit.
“90s country music and @americanidol. Man, I love me some @shenandoahband,” he captioned the clip.
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