ABC American Idol winner Laine Hardy on The Bachelorette.
Laine Hardy will make his debut on “The Bachelorette,” but it won’t be as a suitor. The 20-year-old country music singer, who won “American Idol” in 2019, will perform his romantic single “Memorize You” during a one-on-one date on Katie Thurston’s season of the ABC dating show, per The Associated Press.
An “excited” Hardy first shared the news on social media, as can be seen below, with a photo of a pair of fishing boots with a red rose leaning on it.
I’m so excited to let y’all know I’ll be on @BacheloretteABC next Monday, July 5 to play #MemorizeYou! Y’all make plans to tune in at 8/7c on @ABCNetwork. Think they’ll let me wear my waders? Ha! @BachelorNation t.co/Xhr6mhh0or
#TheBachelorette
“Memorize You” is a single on Laine’s new album, “On the River,” which was released in June, per Amazon Music Unlimited.
Hardy’s History on ‘Idol’ Is ‘Complicated’
ABC/Eric McCandlessPictured: Laine Hardy
Hardy is no stranger to ABC. The young singer first competed on the network’s singing competition “American Idol” in 2018 when he was a 17-year-old high school senior, according to Good Housekeeping. While he wowed “Idol” judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan during his audition. Hardy didn’t make it to eth Top 50 due to his lack of experience and low confidence.
The following season, Hardy turned up to support his pal Ashton Gill on guitar during her “American Idol” audition, but it spawned a comeback for him on the show. Hardy was granted an impromptu audition of his own which went very well. The judges were impressed by his maturity and newfound confidence and he was given a “Golden Ticket” to Hollywood alongside his friend. Hardy ultimately won the 17th season of “American Idol.”
Hardy is Not the First Country Music Star to Perform On ‘The Bachelorette’
Hardy’s “Idol” win scored him a high-profile gig on “The Bachelorette” just in time to promote his new album. He’s also not the first country star to perform on the rose-filled reality franchise.
Last summer, country music singer Adam Hambrick performed a private concert for “Bachelorette’ Tayshia Adams and one of her dates. Hambrick later told the “Click Bait With Bachelor Nation” podcast that he “had a blast” even though he was nervous.
“I’ve never been on TV before, so I was nervous,” he told Adams on the podcast. “Your date was my TV debut. It was special for a lot of reasons. It’s the biggest opportunity I’ve had since starting the artist track of my career.”
In addition, country singer Chase Rice turned up on Peter Weber’s season of “The Bachelor” to sing for Weber and his date, Victoria Fuller. But things got awkward when Fuller revealed once dated the county star.
Rice later told the Fitz in the Morning radio show that he was “really pissed off” to find his past connection with Fuller used as a storyline on the ABC dating show. The singer revealed that he spent one night with Fuller and that she was a “cool chick,” but was blindsided by the way “The Bachelor” producers handled their history.
“I was pretty surprised,” he said, noting that when he found out Fuller was contestants on the show his manager assured him it was just a “coincidence.”
“I was just going on there to try to promote ‘Lonely If You Are’ and ‘Eyes on You,’ and I wanted absolutely nothing — if there’s anything I ever wanted, it’s to have nothing to do with the drama of that show,” Rice said.
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Why Is ‘American Idol’ Winner Laine Hardy on ‘The Bachelorette’?