American Idol judges labeled Will Moseley “a star” after he truly impressed them with his original song, “Gone For Good.”
Will Moseley Introduced Himself To The American Idol Judges
Upon entering the audition room, Idol judge Luke Bryan asked the contestant to introduce him, questioning, “who are ya?” He quickly responded and provided insight into who he is, a 23-year-old from Hazelhurt, Georgia, that stopped pursuing his dreams of being a professional football player in the NFL to chase after a career in music.
“I’m Will Moseley, I’m from Hazlehurst, Georgia,” Moseley revealed. “Football was a way of life. It was eat, sleep, breathe. Wake up, repeat. I loved it. Hazelhurst is a small town. It’s slow. There’s not a lot going on. I’ve lived here my whole life, 23 and counting. You know, every kid dreams of like going to play college football… I’m going to be in the NFL. You have those dreams, but there’s not many people from this area that have those opportunities. So going to play college football is a blessing.”
Moseley played right guard and left tackle on his college football team at Maryville College, right outside of Knoxville, before he opted to retire from the sport after experiencing three concussions in the span of just two seasons.
“There are times where you take hits, and you think something’s not right. Something’s not the same now as it was before. It was tough on me. Are the hits I’m taking, the risk that I’m taking, worth, in 30 years, having those long-lasting effects? There’s no reversing that,” Moseley shared. “Football ended for me, and that’s where I really picked up the guitar and started learning to play. It’s been a blessing in disguise,” he continued to reveal.
He later decided that he was done playing football and wanted to become a country singer. Of playing live shows and being a musician, he shared, “I’ve realized being on stage and singing to people, it’s an adrenaline rush. Really. The feeling that you get when you sing your own song and people sing it back to you is life changing.”
After telling his story and how he got into music, he took center stage in front of the Idol judges for his audition. He auditioned with an original song, titled “Gone For Good.”
Luke Bryan Joined Will On Stage
Moseley began to sing the tune before Lionel Richie suddenly left his judge’s chair and shouted, “Yes.” After Richie’s departure, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan took the reins and watched his performance before offering commentary on his incredible audition.
Perry and Bryan were so impressed by Moseley that they got up and swayed along to his performance, before Bryan joined in and played piano during the contestant’s audition.
“They still got it here in Georgia,” Perry gushed as she watched the two Georgia natives perform from the judging panel.
Idol Judges Dubbed Will Moseley A “Star”
Following his stunning audition, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan praised his vocal talents.
“Lionel’s gone for good, but I’m just going to FaceTime him in really quickly,” Perry said as she called Richie on video chat. Richie answered and gushed, “I say Will is a star. He’s a star from the first note.”
Perry added, “Identity. We need it from the very first note. This isn’t a hobby. You’re not just doing this for one more year. You’re going to do this for the rest of your life.”
Earned A Golden Ticket, Advanced To Hollywood Week
Ultimately, Will Moseley earned three ‘yes’ votes from the American Idol judges and a golden ticket to advance to Hollywood week.
“Well, there it is! I got the golden ticket! Thank you, @lukebryan and @katyperry for listening to the whole thing! @lionelrichie thank you for the fastest Yes in @americanidol history!” Mosley wrote on Instagram after receiving the good news. “See you in Hollywood!”
American Idol airs every Sunday at 8/7c on ABC.
