Watch: ‘American Idol’ Contestant Wows Judges With Beautiful Original Song

Michael Gerow American Idol

ABC/John Fleenor

Season 4 of American Idol has brought plenty of new talent to TV screens across the nation, and contestant Michael Gerow was one of the hopefuls that genuinely surprised the judges with an original song.

Gerow first walked into the room when only Luke Bryan was there, and Bryan tried to get him to audition for him alone since the other judges were running late. That changed when both Katy Perry and Lionel Richie entered the room and greeted the contestant.

The hopeful told the judges that he would be performing an original song for them, and then the audition truly began.


The Judges Were Impressed With Gerow

Gerow told the judges that he was 16 years old, and then he saw Perry run into the room yelling “Roll Tide” at Bryan.

The song, which was titled “Nice Boy” was about a relationship where Gerow felt lonely.

“You’re the one who drove the nice boy out of me / I gave you all I had and then you chose to leave,” he sang.

All three judges looked impressed while Gerow was singing.

“I love the vulnerability of the voice and how you project yourself,” Richie told Gerow when he finished singing. “I think you’ve got something.”

Perry shared that she’d gotten a full seven hours of sleep the night before, so she was in a good mood.

“I’m very happy because you are an exceptional singer, you’ve got swag, I like it,” Perry told him. “You have it, just don’t let it, you know, get in your way too much. I think you’re top 10 and it’s not just because I got seven hours of sleep.”


Gerow Earned a Golden Ticket to Hollywood

Because of his talent, all three of the American Idol judges voted “yes” and sent Gerow through to the Hollywood week round of the competition.

Gerow took to Instagram to express his excitement about his Golden Ticket, writing, “so so thankful I have this opportunity to continue on [American Idol], and I’m even more excited to start this journey with every single one of you. Got some new music coming very soon.”

Many other American Idol season 4 contestants commented on the post, congratulating the young artist.

Gerow originally announced that he auditioned for American Idol on December 14, 2020 with a post of him in front of the American Idol logo holding his guitar. At the time, he wrote, “guess it’s finally time i spill.. I auditioned for American Idol! Watch me on @abcnetwork on February 14th to see what happens :)”

Gerow often posts videos of him singing both original songs and covers on his social media. He’s also posted a video of him doing a standing back flip in front of the American Idol sign.

Hollywood Week begins airing with a genre round on Sunday, March 21, 2021, and the duet round of the week airs on Monday, March 22, 2021. Tune in to see if Gerow is able to make it through to the next round of the competition.

American Idol airs at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC on Sunday nights.

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