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Liahona Olayan was nervous when she walked into the Great Hall with her older brother, Ammon, to audition for “American Idol.”
Lights and cameras were everywhere, and famous judges – megastars like Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie – sat in the distance on a platform that lifted them slightly off the ground.
“It looked like they were on pedestals watching us,” Olayan recently told Deseret News. “I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I have to get out of here. ”
But during the hearing that aired Sunday night, those nerves seemed to dissipate as the Liahona Olayan opened up to the judges about his family and upbringing. By the time she sat down at the piano to perform an original song called “Listen to My Heart” with her brother, the 17-year-old singer was completely in her element.
And the three “Idol” judges were blown away.
“I don’t even know what you were singing, I don’t even know what was going on,” Bryan told the brother-in-law duo after the performance. “All I know is I liked its flavor. I mean, Liahona, you’ve got a voice like we could write a song, record it, and it’s radio ready.
“The complementarity is absolutely magical,” continued the country singer. “I think the sky is the limit, and I’m just freaking out.”
Richie praised the siblings for writing their own music – a skill they developed five years ago while living in a tent in Hawaii with their large family (they are the oldest of eight children) . Since then, the siblings – who now live in Vineyard, Utah, have released an EP and been featured on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2020 Youth Theme Album.
Liahona Olayan told American Idol judges that she and Ammon wrote “Listen to My Heart” to express their love for their siblings, and how they sometimes say things they don’t mean.
“I think what’s missing now is everything is so contrived, and what’s beautiful about it is it’s so fresh,” Richie said. “I like what you two have done. You brought it to the table.
Perry compared the style of the Liahona Olayan to singers like Lorde and Alessia, and told the siblings that they have a definite future in songwriting.
“I think you are on the right track,” she said. “You have incredible talent. Amazing songwriters – like, should be signed right now. ”
“Find the tent you were in and put it somewhere in your backyard,” says Richie. “I want you to write more songs out of this tent.”
“Maybe it’ll be at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame someday,” Bryan added with a laugh.
And then the three judges gave both Liahona and Ammon a “yes,” sending the siblings to the next round of the show, which begins March 21.
Regardless of how far “American Idol” has come, Liahona Olayan previously told Deseret News that she was just happy to share this unique opportunity with her brother.
“He was my inspiration and always has been,” she says. “Being on ‘American Idol’ is still crazy to deal with, but you know after all that we’ve been through it’s like a dream come true.
Reactions of the “Idol” judges:
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