Singer Brayden King given the nod, advances on American Idol

By Greg Nikkel Weyburn singer

Brayden King competed on TV’s American Idol in Hollywood, and is advancing from the “Hollywood Week” competition, after going through from the first part on Sunday night to the duets competition on Monday night.

While his performance was not featured either night, he posted on social media that he was given the nod by the judges to advance to Monday night, when the remaining contestants paired up for duets.

“They gave me a standing ovation, actually. I sang an original song called ‘Front Row’,” said Brayden on Monday of the judges’ reaction to his song on the Hollywood stage.

The contestants were paired up with a mentor to work on a specific area of performance, and Brayden had chosen songwriting as the area he wanted to work on, telling the judges, “I’ve got lots of stories to tell.”

Fresh off the American Idol stage, Brayden will be bringing his music to Weyburn, as he announced over social media he will be at the Weyburn Comprehensive School to do a concert for the students on Friday, April 21, in the afternoon.

The initial audition was in September in Las Vegas, but he wasn’t able to let people know until just before the Hollywood competition aired over the weekend.

He said in an interview it was a “surreal” experience to audition.

Brayden received the thumbs-up from the three judges, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, and he had his golden ticket to go to Hollywood after he sang his own composition, “Down That Road”.

Prior to the audition, the show’s producers reached out to him after seeing his videos online, and invited him to audition. He did a couple rounds of virtual auditions before he was invited to Vegas, and they provided everything for his stay. He estimated there were about 300 people who stayed in the hotel where the auditions were held, along with the TV crew, and these were chosen out of over 120,000 people who had applied to be on the show.

“My biggest take-away is it’s a lot different than what people perceive on TV. I went in and we chatted for like five minutes. They asked a lot of questions about my life in Saskatchewan, and my mom.”

On screen it looks like an intimate space where the auditions are held, but Brayden noted there were about 50 crew members also in the room with cameras and sound equipment, taking notes and watching the proceedings.

He and his dad spent four days in Vegas, and he noted the best part of the experience was meeting the other artists and hanging out with them, playing and sharing music together.

“The relationships and friendships I made were the best part to come out of it,” said Brayden. “They were artists just like me, country artists from places like Texas and West Virginia. We just got to hang out and play music.”

When he sang his song, Luke Bryan commented it sounded like Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton, and Katy Perry asked if he knew any other Sheeran songs. Brayden then played the song, “Give Me Love”, and Katy then gave him her yes. Lionel said he’d like to join his fan club, and Katy asked if his dad was there, so Greg then came out on the stage with Brayden.

Since the news came out that he’s competing on American Idol, his social media pages have been blowing up, and his newly released song had already been streamed over 2,000 times as of last week.

Brayden noted that he’s not just getting local support from Weyburn and Regina, but people from right across the Prairies are urging him on, with even Premier Scott Moe extending best wishes on social media.

“That’s the coolest thing to have people cheering me on from all over.”

Brayden currently lives in Edmonton and has been extensively touring as he writes and records his original songs. He was part of the local band, The 7th Avenue, while attending high school at the Weyburn Comprehensive School, before moving on to a solo career.

He performed in Weyburn last summer as part of the Young Fellows Club’s centennial outdoor concert in Jubilee Park.