By Keith Taylor
Kentucky Today
Kentucky native Kyra Waits is going to Hollywood.
Kyra Watts, American Idol screenshot
Waits, who is from Berea, earned a gold ticket to the 22nd season of “American Idol” Sunday night following her impressive audition in front of judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie on ABC. Waits performed “Up to the Mountain,” made popular by Patty Griffin.
Perry was impressed and said she was “unrehearsed” and “not completely in control” but added the “massive talent” in her voice overshadowed the inexperience.
“You’ve got a huge voice in there that just needs some shaping,” Perry said. “You’re a different kind — diamond in the rough.”
Bryan also was impressed with the performance by Waits.
“Great big, big, big voice,” Bryan said. “I love your cry that you have your voice. I love the volume. You’re just raw and young and new and all this. You might have been there 100 times, as you said. But one thing, it was clear to me when you went to that note of the full scream, you had no fear — no fear.”
“I thought, ‘she is not going to let this door close, not one more time,” Richie added. “I felt all of your energy go through your way through this thing. And I think that it’s going to serve you well.”
