Of all the competition reality shows on television these days, few are as iconic or influential as American Idol.
Though the show was launched as far back as 2002, it remains popular and successful to this day. Perhaps more so than competing reality shows, American Idol’s premise is crystal clear and pure—and with 17 seasons and 593 episodes, it has likely brought us more memorable moments than many of the other shows out there combined. Regardless of how long it’s on the air, it still seems to come up with stunning new moments all the time.
For more evidence of this, consider this recent audition from the newest season.
The woman in the clip is Myra Tran, a Vietnamese teenager who is only 19 years old.
As Tran explains, she’s been watching the show since she was a little girl and her biggest dream was to perform in front of the show’s live audience. Needless to say, this answer is pretty charming to the judges on the panel. After that, Tran reveals that she plans to sing “One Night Only” by Jennifer Hudson. As fans of the show know, Hudson is an American Idol alum herself!
With all that said, the judges clear the way for Tran to do her audition.
As a piano starts playing the accompanying music, Tran closes her eyes and gets in the zone.
Tran begins singing in a fine but gentle tone, setting the emotional tone for the performance. Almost immediately after that, her voice rises and she hits an incredible run of notes with so much precision that one of the judges just has to shake his head and laugh.
For her part, Katy Perry raises her eyebrow to articulate what everyone is thinking: how can someone this young be this talented?
Still, Tran is only getting started.
Although she’s already captured the judges’ attention, Tran hasn’t even gotten to any of the difficult parts yet.
As she soars through the next sections, her voice goes from a raspy growl to a soulful tone that has all of the judges in complete disbelief.
Throughout the song, she proves that she can handle the most dynamic and complex songs with complete ease. When it comes to the sections that require belting, all the judges can do is give each other high fives.
But Tran hasn’t even unleashed the full power of her voice yet!
By the very end, the judges have to give her a standing ovation!
One of the first questions comes from Katy Perry, who is in complete shock: “You’re in high school?!” Although it goes without saying, Tran couldn’t be happier at the judges’ reaction.
She explains that she’s only been in the United States for the year and has been singing in her high school choir. Towards the end of it, judge Luke Bryan puts it pretty succinctly. “You’re up there with the Kelly Clarksons of the world,” he says. “That’s the only way I can say it.”
After more compliments and praise, the judges vote her through unanimously!
When it’s all over, Tran bursts into tears.
Though it goes without saying, it takes a ton of hard work and sacrifices to achieve any dream we hope to achieve. Although there’s an element of natural talent that goes into any world-class ability, the effort to see it through and the self-confidence to sustain it are the other major parts of the equation. As it turns out, Tran has all three in spades!
Congratulations to Myra on making all of her dreams come true! Check out her full performance below:
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