Chayce Beckham told the story behind “Mamma” and shared that his Mom Windie actually cried when she first heard the song.
In a recent interview, the top 3 American Idol finalist told Music Mayhem how “Mamma” came to be and how he was inspired to write the track during Hollywood week on Idol after an interview with a producer on the show.
“I wrote that song in Hollywood,” Beckham explained. “I did an interview, and the producer who did the interview really got into some of the nitty gritty stuff of my life, and really worked me up, got me emotional. So I walked out of that interview, and I went upstairs to go back to my hotel room, and I ended up writing that song in about, you know, 15 or 20 minutes.”
After he wrote the emotion-filled tune, Beckham called his mom to play her the song. He admitted that while he played her the song they cried together and just talked about life.
“So I kind of just jotted it down, then I called my mamma, and I sang it for her and, you know, we both cried and just kind of talked about life and where we’ve been,” Beckham added.
Beckham humbly admitted that he didn’t plan to perform the song on Idol as he didn’t think he’d still be on Idol for Mother’s Day performances.
“I didn’t plan on playing that on the show. I didn’t think I’d still be here for Mother’s Day performances or anything like that,” the California native told Music Mayhem. “So it was just a song that I wrote, and I sang it to my mom because that’s what I felt and to get to go sing that song on live TV and to finally do an original when I’ve been dying to do one all season, it’s so gratifying, you know? So it was a lot, it was a hard battle like not singing originals for like a long time, you know. And then kind of getting the clear, okay, let’s do an original, and I was just like yes, let’s go.”
Beckham previously gave an emotional performance of “Mamma” during Idol’s Mother’s Day dedications on May 9, which earned praise from Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.
“I mean, listen, you have me crying on your song as a songwriter, i’m going to tell you, put that song out now,” Richie gushed during the show. “that’s a smash record. That was performed perfectly and you had us from the first… beginning of it. The chords, the words, everything man. Congratulations.”
“Sensitive, vulnerable, heavy machinery operator,” Perry said. “Crying on stage, making his Mother cry. A+ A+ A+ Chayce!”
“Calm down Katy, calm down, it’s okay. Way to pull out the right song on the right night to mama and all the mamas out there,” Bryan added.
Additionally, the top 3 Idol finalist and fan-favorite contestant is set to take the stage on Sunday, May 23, during the three-hour Idol finale for several performances.
The 24-year-old will perform six times during this Sunday’s season finale, including covers of Chris Stapleton’s “Fire Away,” The Beatles’ “Blackbird” and Ed Sheeran’s “Afterglow.” In addition to his solo performances, he will also perform duets alongside Luke Combs, Fall Out Boy and Macklemore. See the full song list for Idol’s finale HERE.
Tune into the American Idol season finale on Sunday, May 23 at 8/7c on ABC.
