Imagine being a girl with a dream. You’ve been singing and taking piano lessons as long as you can remember, and you’re dreaming of one day being a star. Of course that means that when American Idol auditions come to town, you have to go and see if you have what it takes to get a ticket to Hollywood.
This season, the hosts of American Idol are Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie. It has to be an incredibly long day listening to audition after audition, some which are downright terrible. It has to be an incredible relief when you hear someone who truly stands out from the crowd.
In New York, the judges did not know what they were in for when one 16-year-old girl walked into the room. Her name is Madison VanDenberg. Before her audition started, she told the judges, “I’ve been in music my whole life. I started piano lessons when I was real young, and I gig a lot…this has been my dream.”
Lionel couldn’t help but comment on the fact that she gigs a lot and she’s only 16. He said, “I’ve been gigging all my life; what are you talking about?”
Madison responded to Lionel’s question by laughing and telling him she’s going to sing the song “Speechless” by Dan and Shay. Then she walked over to the piano and sat down.
Madison certainly plays the piano beautifully, but when she started singing, the judges knew they were witnessing something special. Just a few lines into the song, Katy stretched out her arms, showing her goosebumps to Luke and Lionel.
After Madison finished her amazing performance, the judges were truly speechless. In fact, they all stood up and gave her a standing ovation before she even stood up from the piano bench. Madison seemed genuinely surprised at their positive response. She smiled from ear to ear and said, “Thank you so much.”
Lionel couldn’t seem to believe that she was really only 16, espeically with a voice like that. He asked, “How old are you really?”
Then, Lionel mentioned Katy’s goosebumps. Katy explained, “It’s my first goosebumps. I really thought that I’d lost all feeling for some reason, and I’m so glad that you gave me back a pulse. I thought there was a winner earlier today. There might be a winner now. I think you’re as good as Kelly Clarkson.”
Madison is overjoyed at the positive feedback from the judges. Watch her stunning performance in the video below.
Do you agree with the judges that Madison could be the next Kelly Clarkson? Did you get goosebumps?