When you think of American Idol, chances are, you think about Kelly Clarkson.
Over the years, the judges on AI have changed, it has even changed networks. But one person has always been synonymous with the show – Kelly.
Kelly was the season one winner of American Idol all the way back in 2002. Back then, Kelly was just a wide-eyed 20-year-old looking to make a name for herself.
Now, Kelly is the most famous and successful of all of the winners (though Carrie Underwood has done alright for herself, as has Jennifer Hudson, even though Jennifer didn’t actually win). Kelly is a superstar singer nowadays and actually is a coach on The Voice.
During the auditions on the most recent season of American Idol, a young contestant was compared to Kelly Clarkson.
Madison VanDenburg is only 16 years old, but she is already immensely talented for her age. The judges could not believe how young she is!
Lionel Richie even laughed when she said she’d been gigging all her life because she is only 16. But Madison really has been around music her whole life!
For her audition, Madison chose to sing “Speechless” by Dan + Shay, which is actually ironic, because Kelly Clarkson herself is announcing the Billboard Music Award nominees with Dan + Shay.
When she was done belting out “Speechless,” the judges were ready to praise Madison for her beautiful singing (and piano playing). Lionel joked around with her, swearing that there was no way someone with a voice like that could be 16.
Lionel also said:
“Do you know what you just did? You rendered us speechless. To the point, where Katy is showing me goosebumps on her arm.”
According to Katy, this was her first real goosebumps moment of the season. She also told Madison that she was happy that she gave her back a pulse.
Katy then went on to say that Madison could be the next Kelly Clarkson. She thought she was a star. Luke Bryan was in total agreement with that. He added:
“I’m witnessing the next Kelly Clarkson!”
Since this audition video was shared on Facebook, it has gotten 17 million views, 5,000 likes, and 1,000 shares. It also got almost 2 million views on YouTube and over 2,100 comments. One Facebook user wrote:
Have not been impressed with the talent this year. But this one is amazing she is my absolute favorite. She’s got my vote to the very end.
So, what do you think? Are the judges too excited, or could Madison just be the next Kelly Clarkson?
American Idol airs on ABC on Sundays and Mondays this season. You can catch the next episode on Sunday, April 7, 2019.
You can watch Madison VanDenburg’s AI audition in the video below:
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