Crews Wright, a 17-year-old from Samson, Alabama, is quickly proving himself to be a standout contestant on this season of American Idol. On Monday evening (Mar. 31), his fate on the show was sealed after he delivered an impressive cover of Conway Twitty’s “Goodbye Time.”

Prior to taking the “Idol Arena” stage, Wright compared Hollywood week on American Idol to a rodeo. “The arena’s definitely given me some personal vibes. They said that this shindig was going to be something like an arena. That’s what they’re going to call it this year. So I used to rodeo. I started riding horses before I can walk. The rodeo arena and this arena have a lot in common,” Wright explained ahead of his performance. “I feel like this is the bull riding here. Your adrenaline’s rushing. Whenever you go into an arena, you’re sitting there nervous like a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Everybody’s going crazy. Your heart’s pounding 90 miles an hour.”

Keeping Traditional Country Music Alive With Cover Of “Goodbye Time” by Conway Twitty

Donning blue jeans, a salmon-colored pearl snap shirt and a straw cowboy hat, Crews Wright entered the stage with confidence as his mom cheered him on from the crowd inside the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles. “You got this Crews, do what you do, shine!” his mom shouted.

Wright explained to the Idol judges why he should remain in the competition before performing. “I feel I should be the next American Idol because I believe in keeping traditional country alive,” he said. “Music isn’t about something that’s trending, and it’s about something that lasts. That’s right. And I try to leave a little piece of me on every stage I walk across. So I’m going to give you a little bit of that today.”

He followed up his bold statement with a performance of the classic country hit “Goodbye Time,” originally recorded by Conway Twitty.

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Crews Wright allowed his traditional country vocals to shine as he brought the Twitty tune to life with his raw talent and swagger. His performance of “Goodbye Time” even had Luke Bryan singing along with a big smile and his fellow Idol hopefuls cheering him on from the audience.

Luke Bryan Praises 17-Year-Old Crews Wright

At the conclusion of his performance, Luke Bryan questioned Wright, “Do you swear you’re 17.” The young contestant quickly assured him, “I promise, I am.” Carrie Underwood chimed and joked, “I need to see a birth certificate.”

Bryan then praised the contestant, who is destined to have a bright future in Country music. “I mean, to pick a Conway Twitty song… I grew up on that and lived it. And in fact that you’re 17 and that’s where your brain is with music and that’s where you want to sing some pretty cool stuff,” Bryan gushed. “And where you’re at, at this point, you’re going to grow so fast and have so much to offer. That was great. Just watching you kind of win the room is pretty cool stuff. So good job.”

Following his performance, Crews Wright opened up to Idol producers about the pressure he felt heading into his Hollywood week showcase, saying, “That was definitely like some bull riding there because it was heat of the moment. You had to do it in a minute and a half, and it was border to border, intense.”

Crews Wright; Photo Courtesy of American Idol via ABC

Fate Revealed: Advances To Next Round

American Idol host, Ryan Seacrest, greeted Wright as he exited the room and asked him, “you feel like you delivered?”

“I think so, I think it was really good. I think I will see y’all at the show-stopper round,” Wright confidently stated — and he was right, as his fate was confirmed later in the show. Crews Wright was among the 62 Idol hopefuls who advanced after what the show described as “the biggest cut in Idol history.”

American Idol returns on Sunday, April 6 for the “Showstoppers” round, where Jelly Roll will make his highly-anticipated debut as the first-ever artist in residence to offer guidance to the contestants. During the “Showstoppers” round, the remaining Idol hopefuls will face a career-defining challenge, where they’ll have the chance to prove that they have what it takes to captivate an audience with performances that could “make or break their journey to fame” and their shot at becoming the next American Idol.