Baylee Littrell, the son of Brian Littrell of the Backstreet Boys, has already jumped into work mode following his run on Season 23’s American Idol.
The Atlanta native, 22, recently released a track called “Hey Jesus,” a faith-filled tune offering a slight departure from his country roots. Littrell performed the song during his time on Idol, earning praise from all three judges, including Carrie Underwood.
“Baylee, you’re so good. Your heart and your genuineness are just coming through,” Underwood said at the time.
While speaking to Music Mayhem, the talented rising star opened up about his journey on Idol, his recent release “Hey Jesus,” as well as what’s to come.
He said that although he didn’t win his season of American Idol, the reality TV competition helped him in so many ways as a growing artist, “‘American Idol’ is a great learning tool for artists who are trying to get their feet wet in this business and gain exposure,” Littrell said. “The music industry is not just about writing songs and recording in the studio…you have to be able to talk to the press, get on stage in front of a live audience, whether that would be an award show or the Super Bowl.”
While learning the ropes of the music industry and performing live on national television, Littrell said the most challenging part of it all was the constant pressure to deliver flawless performances every time in front of millions of people watching every week. But he wouldn’t have had it any other way, as those moments helped him hone his craft.
“Being in front of a live audience was the hardest part for all of the contestants, including myself. You’re live on television, and don’t want to mess up….” Littrell said, “It helped me learn to be myself because I was like a shell of myself as an artist. I just didn’t believe in myself when I needed to keep going. I thought I had figured out who I was as an artist, and then I did this experience, and I walked away from it thinking I’ve still got a lot to learn about myself, and who I want to be as an artist. So it was an amazing learning experience.”
Although the live audience setting was an intimidating factor for Littrell, he said singing in front of just a few people was even more nerve-wracking. So he was happy to be able to please the judges’ table consisting of Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie early on, as his fate on the show rested in their hands.
“The fewer people that you’re in front of, the scarier it can be. But then, when you’re in front of them, you’re like the balance of my musical journey is almost in their hands because you want to get farther on the show,” Littrell said. “There are different opportunities for you, there’s more exposure. So even in that initial audition, I thought, are three of my somewhat music heroes going to be like, ‘Nope?’ It’s that being afraid of rejection that you get so scared of. But to know that they believed in me throughout the process of this was the greatest thing.”
Littrell pulled a bold move for his American Idol audition, showcasing his original song called “Waiting On Myself To Die.” Looking back at that moment, which earned him a ticket to Hollywood, Littrell said he wasn’t necessarily ready for that audition, but went with that song choice because he wanted to be as honest as possible.
“I was still going through a lot of stuff in my life around the time I decided to audition, and it was just struggles that we all have with our life circumstances or mental health things,” he said. “I didn’t feel ready for this moment at all for American Idol. It was one of those things where I was going through personal struggles, and I was like, ‘You know what? If I’m going to do this, I’ve got to be completely honest with everyone, no matter how it goes, and showcase how I feel or where I’m at in life through this song, and thinking hopefully this resonates with people. That’s just my thing as an artist now.”
“I’ve spent so much time sugarcoating a lot of things, and now I’m just kind of like, let’s be real,” he continued. “…. A lot of us have the same struggles, so it’s like let’s broadcast this and see if there’s someone this song reaches out to and helps. So that was my intention going in there and then just being real.”
Baylee Littrell’s journey on American Idol led him into the Top 20, but he was eliminated during the episode that revealed the Top 14. Although he and five other individuals didn’t make the cut, the young singer/songwriter noted that he received some additional guidance from Richie afterward.
“He uplifted our entire room a couple of times, which was the greatest thing,” Littrell recalled. “But when I got off the show, we were doing our farewell press run, and he pulled me aside and talked to me for a second, and it was so sweet. What he told me was just to keep continuing to be yourself and pave your way. He’s like, ‘You’re going to be all right. This is just one moment in time.’ He said, ‘Your career is far from over. Take this as your ticket out of here, it’s good, and go out there and get busy.’ It was really cool to hear….All you need is Lionel to tell you that, and I wasn’t devastated. I kind of knew I was going after that round, but to hear that from Lionel, it was like, ‘Oh man.’ It made me feel better. So it was super cool. I loved it.”
Littrell said Richie’s words spoke volumes even more as he is “someone I look up to, specifically just his journey from being in the Commodores to going solo. He was around when Motown was still a record label and a musical empire. What he’s seen in his day is the real, gritty music industry. So his advice and knowledge of what I could do better, his approval meant a lot to me.”
Although Littrell auditioned with “Waiting On Myself To Die,” don’t expect a recording of the track to be released anytime soon. He said he’s been focused on other material at the moment.
“I think I’m going to probably hold onto that one for an album unless I release it as a single, but that one, truth be told, has yet to be recorded,” he said. “I’ve recorded a lot of songs already, but I haven’t got to that one yet. ‘Hey Jesus’ became the focal point, but I’ll probably have to circle back around to that song.”
New single, “Hey Jesus”
“Hey Jesus” was released late last month and was inspired through an awakening of sorts, as Littrell has reclaimed his faith. On American Idol, the performance of the song led folks to believe Littrell wrote it for his grandmother, who he was close to but had passed away. Clearing up any confusion, Littrell said the faith-filled anthem was actually drawn from a realization that ‘we’re not immortal’ – something he understood after he lost his grandmother.
“I was going to sing a song I wrote for her directly about her on the show, but I ended up getting scared it was going to be too emotional or too sad, and I didn’t want to break down on camera. That was another thing which I did at one point during interviews, I got all sappy and cried,” Littrell said. “But the ‘Hey Jesus’ inspiration really came from just my struggle with faith. And when I lost her, there was a certain point where I was very aware that we’re not immortal. In your youthful adulthood, you still believe you’re invincible, and I finally woke up and thought, ‘Man. I just lost my best friend.’ Life is really flashing before your eyes. I think this is also a message I wish I had gotten across. I believe you give that pain to God, that’s what you have to do.”
Of writing the song, Littrell said the act of sitting down and putting the lyrics together helped him through the grieving process of losing a loved one.
“People would tell me ‘Your grandma’s in a better place’ and all this stuff. And I was mad when people would tell me that. So I questioned everything. So one day I sit down, I write this song, and I’m like, ‘Please show me the way. God, please show me the way.’ So it was a cool moment. It helped me through grief. So in many ways, they weren’t wrong. It is directed towards her. It could be directed towards any struggles that you’re going through, but that one was really about me finding God again and trusting in that journey and knowing that everything doesn’t have to be okay for you to believe in something very beautiful.”
So what’s next for Baylee Littrell? He says, “I think the chapter that’s coming next is based on just me being completely vulnerable and me being real with people and not holding back … A lot of songs that are going to be released are very raw, like two takes in the studio. So it’s going to be different. It’s not going to be as polished as what’s been out before, and that’s what I’m excited about.”
Littrell added that his forthcoming releases will involve an “acoustic element.”
“There’s going to be just completely plain acoustic songs that are left as is and raw that were recorded live. A lot of the stuff in the studio, a lot of the songs are straight live takes…,” he explained. “I just wanted it to be real for people….‘Hey Jesus,’ that song as it is, I want to build off of that.”
Littrell may be working toward a record, but he expects other music will be recorded and released as well. As far as the direction that he’s leaning into, Littrell says he has taken to including gospel elements into his music, but hasn’t fully stepped away from the folk-country sound that he’s known for.
“I’ve got another couple of religious songs that I would love to eventually release, but I think as a whole that’ll be a separate venture than this record that I’m going on now,” he notes. “But they’ll probably be going on simultaneously because ‘Hey Jesus,’ I love how the song touches on how imperfect we are, and all it takes is surrendering to Jesus, to God, and entrusting in that. So that’s really what I want to build off of. I’m a very imperfect man who’s pursuing a music career and who wants to help people in any way I can. So I want to bring them closer to their inner selves, to God, to source in any way I can do that, I will do that. So I’m very excited.”
“I got some normal folky country singer songwriter, even soft rock stuff out there, but at the same time I get to make music for God,” he adds of his forthcoming project noting that the tracks will be a mixture of various genres blending together to create who he is as an artist and a trailblazer in his own right. “I’m super happy!”
“One cool thing Carrie Underwood told me, she said, ‘Dude, you are your own genre, so don’t try to pigeonhole yourself and try to create it,” Littrell recalled. “So I’m still taking the elements of country where I’ve been for the last seven years and implementing that towards more singer-songwriter soft rock elements ….I’m taking from a lot of musical inspirations and trying to mesh them into mine. So I’m excited.”
Along with focusing on music, Littrell is also juggling school and a run of shows he has booked.
“This is my first little run of headlining venues… a lot of these places are a rite of passage for up-and-coming artists to play. So Eddie’s attic, returning home and playing that, that’s my favorite place to play music. So I’m excited for that. And then two days after that, wrapping up in Charlotte until we go back out on the road again…. the Evening Muse is like the Eddie’s attic of Charlotte. So I’m super excited to go play The Evening Muse too, because I’ve been intrigued by this place for a long time. So I’m lucky they said yes to booking that show because I’m excited.”
For more information and to buy tickets to an upcoming Baylee Littrell show, visit his official website.
