McKenna Breinholt reunited with her birth family and brought the judges to tears on American Idol during her heartwarming Idol audition. The 25-year-old from Gilbert, Arizona, opened up about her life story before delivering a cover of “There Was Jesus,” a GRAMMY Award-winning song recorded by Zach Williams and country music icon, Dolly Parton.
McKenna Breinholt Life Story
Perry asked Breinholt to introduce herself and give her and the other Idol judges insight on her life. When Perry questioned her if her family was in the music industry, she said “no,” and went on to share details of how she was adopted.
“I actually was adopted. I found out I was adopted as early as I was able to understand it,” Breinholt explained. “My mom struggled for several years trying to get pregnant, and eventually they just decided to go through the adoption process. I have the best family in the world. They’ve always supported me. When I turned 21, I sat my parents down and asked them to tell me any information they had on my birth mom. They told me her name was Amy Ross Lopez, she was a musician, and she had passed away. I just wanted to know where I came from.”
Fast-forward to Summer of 2023 when Breinholt was united with her “entire birth family” over the internet and discovered that they are all singers. She then revealed to Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan that they haven’t yet had the opportunity to meet in person, but have chatted through video chat and will be meeting for the first time in three weeks.
Perry then questioned Breinholt if she was “nervous” to meet her birth family, to which the 25-year-old American Idol contestant admitted, “no, I feel like I’ve known them my whole life.”
Watch Breinholt’s American Idol Audition
The budding star was then asked what song she chose to audition with, to which she revealed she would be covering “There Was Jesus” by Zach Williams and Dolly Parton.
“We’re excited to hear you sing,” Perry declared, before admitting that the song choice is very fitting for her situation.
McKenna Breinholt then made her way over to a white grand piano to deliver her memorable audition with a cover of “There Was Jesus.”
The Big Surprise Unveiled On TV
The cameras then panned to host Ryan Seacrest as Breinholt auditioned, who was right outside the audition room doors with her adopted parents.
“She’s going to meet some of her family that is still around, her aunts, an uncle and a grandmother,” Seacrest said while chatting with her adopted family. Her adopted mother, Lisa, then revealed that they initially had plans to go out and visit her birth family in Montana, however, they decided to bring them along to surprise her during her American Idol audition.
“Yup, in a couple of weeks we had tickets to go out to Montana, but what she doesn’t know is we brought them with us here tonight,” Lisa revealed to Seacrest. “Yeah, she’s going to meet them.”
Judges Praised McKenna Breinholt’s Vocals
Following her impressive Idol audition, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie praised her vocal abilities and natural-born talents.
“You’ve got a great voice. It’s really signature and raspy and interesting,” Katy Perry gushed before asking Luke Bryan to comment, “What do you think, Luke?”
“You’re very in control of what you’re doing. You’re in control of being at the piano, and you’re in control of singing. You’ve got that figured out. Yeah, I thought that was great,” Luke Bryan added.
“I love exactly what you did! I love the sound of your voice, and I’m just anxious to see what you’re going to do with this?” Lionel Richie exclaimed.
Reunited With Her Birth Family
Perry then extended an invitation for McKenna Breinholt to bring her family into the audition room. She obliged and went over to welcome her family into the room when she was surprised by her birth family and broke down in tears.
“They’re here! My birth family’s here,” Breinholt told the Idol judges as tears streamed down her cheek.
The Idol judges, in a state of shock, questioned “what just happened?” Breinholt then admitted, “I don’t know, I opened the door, and they were just standing there.” Katy Perry quickly became overcome with tears before the video ended.
The audition clip on YouTube then concluded before revealing their “final judgement.”
Tune into American Idol on Sunday, February 18 at 8/7c on ABC to find out if McKenna Breinholt secured a golden ticket to Hollywood.
