American Idol may be a major moment for an artist’s career, but for contestant Christian Brown, family comes first. Brown auditioned for Season 24 of Idol with a song written by his father, Marty Brown, a songwriter who is a member of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, and scored a golden ticket to Hollywood Week.
While he was eliminated after the first round there, he was invited to participate in a press tour through the spring to promote the show’s latest season. Four days before his initial Idol audition, Brown and his wife, Brenda, welcomed their son, Isaiah, but it was just recently that doctors diagnosed Isaiah with coarctation of the aorta.
Coarctation of the aorta is a congenital narrowing of the aorta, which is the main artery that carries blood from the heart. The condition increases blood pressure in the upper body and restricts blood flow to the lower body and “can be a life-threatening condition if it becomes severe,” according to Dr. Melissa Perrotta, a pediatric and adult congenital cardiologist with Norton Children’s Hospital.
Following the diagnosis, Christian and Brenda drove two hours from their town of Franklin, Kentucky to Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, so that Isaiah could undergo surgery to correct the defect. “He has to have this fix, or down the road he could have a heart attack or something happen to him,” Brenda told WHAS 11.
This wasn’t the first time Christian had been at the Ronald McDonald House in Louisville, as his brother was treated there for a congenital heart defect when Christian was 3 years old. “I remember being at the Ronald McDonald House in Louisville,” Christian said. “Now we’re here with our son, and it’s this full circle moment.”
In a Facebook post on March 4, Christian Brown told his followers that his “little angel” Isaiah was out of surgery and “in perfect condition.
“His mommy and daddy sure did miss him while he was with the surgeons that took excellent care of him,” he wrote. “Thank you to Norton Children’s Hospital Downtown for taking the time to help our little guy.”
Christian Brown’s priority is his son, and he’s now spending time with his little boy as he recovers from surgery with his family around him. “If I had a record deal sitting in front of my face and my son in the other hand, I’d choose my son any time over anything,” Christian said.
The singer’s dad, Marty, echoed the sentiment in a Facebook post of his own, writing that “Sometimes in life you have to make choices.”
He shared that Christian “had to choose his son who had to have heart surgery today at Norton’s Children’s Hospital over his journey with the grueling American Idol schedule that would hinder my Grandsons recovery.” Marty continued, “We are grateful to American Idol for everything!!!! I was proud of him when he auditioned but I’m more proud of him for putting my Grandson first. God will bless him for it too.”
Christian told WHAS 11 that Isaiah has given him an even bigger inspiration when it comes to his music. “It’s love,” he shared. “He makes me want to write again. He’s bringing the words back to the music. I know how my dad felt back then. I do now.”
