Luke Bryan declared that Elleigh Marie, whose real name is Elleigh Francom, is destined for superstardom after her stunning American Idol audition on Sunday evening (Mar. 17).
Elleigh Marie’s Story
Raised in American Fork, Utah, the 20-year-old cosmetologist was heavily influenced to find her voice as her mother was a singer and theater teacher. “I’ve always loved American Idol… My mom’s a singer, so we watched it growing up, and she teaches theater,” the Utah native unveiled to the Idol judges.
Elleigh Marie had a challenging upbringing as her father served in the United States Air Force, and was often deployed overseas, and her mother was also battling kidney and thyroid disease.
“Growing up as a military kid, it was pretty rough,” she admitted. “My dad was gone a lot of the time and my mom was struggling with kidney disease and thyroid disease, so a lot of the responsibilities did fall on me. We actually just found out today that he’s getting deployed for a year.”
Auditioned With Bonnie Raitt Hit
Donning a black shirt and blue jeans, Elleigh Marie then took to the center stage to showcase her talents with an impressive performance of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.”
“‘Cause I can’t make you love me if you don’t/ You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t/ Here in the dark, in these final hours/ I will lay down my heart, and I’ll feel the power/ But you won’t, no you won’t/ ‘Cause I can’t make you love me, if you don’t,” Elleigh Marie Francom sang on the tune’s chorus.
Predicted Elleigh Marie Would Make It To The Top 10 On American Idol
Following her audition, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan praised the aspiring singer and her talents.
“It was great. You gave me the feels. I am alive. You started off somewhat average, and then you landed it in a space that was like, ‘Whoa. Oh my Gosh.’ If you sang from that space every time, you would be in superstar territory,” Perry stated.
“I think she’s top 10,” Bryan predicted, before gushing, “There’s just really beautiful things going on in your voice. Especially when you settle down when.”
“When she soars,” Perry chimed in. Bryan added, “Yeah. It got really well done, really classy. Really, older than your years. I just loved it. Loved it.”
Lionel Richie complimented Elleigh Marie’s captivating vocal talents.
“You went to a place that was so pure and so angelic that it was really one of those moments where we couldn’t keep our eyes off of you,” Richie said.
Does Elleigh Plan To Pursue Music Full-Time?
Perry later questioned Elleigh Marie on if she would ever quit her job as a cosmetologist, asking, “Have you never just thought, well, maybe I should just pursue this and take it seriously for a second.”
Elleigh, who was full of emotion, admitted that she has thought about making the move to pursuing a career in music, but with her dad being gone in the military, she feels she has to be there to help her family.
“I have. It’s just with my dad being gone a lot, we’re actually thinking that we might have to, I might have to move back home,” Elleigh tearfully explained. “Oh my gosh. I would love to. It’s just hard.”
“She is like the perfect American Idol contestant,” Bryan shouted with a big smile on his voice.
The Francom Family Enters The Room
The American Idol judges then invited Elleigh Marie’s mom, dad and siblings into the audition room as they voted on her performance.
“Wow, what a family. Well, your angel, Elleigh, just sang from her heart. She was really emotional before she sang. So you might be deployed in April, but she might be going somewhere in February,” Perry told the Francom family.
Earned A Golden Ticket To Hollywood
After welcoming the Francom family into the room, the trio of Idol judges voted on whether or not Elleigh would advance to Hollywood week.
“I wrote, I think she’s top 10 on my sheet. That kind of means I’m going to say yes,” Bryan exclaimed, showing the family that he wrote “top ten” on his observation sheet.
Ultimately, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan earned three “yes” votes and a golden ticket to Hollywood.
American Idol airs every Sunday at 8/7c on ABC.
