Luke Bryan cradled a baby boy during one of the most moving auditions of the upcoming season on Monday’s American Idol telecast.
Marcio Donaldson, 28, arrived on the show with a tragic story about how he was thrown in “the system” of child services after growing up in a roach-infested home in the criminally charged town of Compton, California.
Just six months ago, authorities knocked on his door and asked if he would take in a week-old child that his sister, who was addicted to drugs, couldn’t keep.
Luke Bryan held a contestant’s adorable baby child during Monday’s American Idol show.
“I looked down and I said I’ll take him,” he recalled, sobbing. “I didn’t want him to go through what I went through.”
It was the proper decision. “He has changed my life,” he said.
Luke, 41, wanted to give baby Rashad a hug when Marcio brought him to his show tryout. As Marcio cautioned, “He’s a real baby.”
As 68-year-old Lionel Richie came over to give him a comforting hug, the hopeful broke down in tears after performing Labrinth’s Jealous, which was clearly dedicated to his new kid.
Real baby: Marcio Donaldson warned Luke that the baby was a “real baby.”
Lionel Richie embraced Marcio tightly following his audition.
“Your voice is a real voice,” Luke told him. Is it technically perfect? No, but it’s true, buddy. You ride that horse as far as you can.
Katy Perry, 33, went on to say, “I think you’re a really sensitive, emotional, beautiful, vulnerable soul.” We are always looking for people who can sing about their feelings.
After getting three yeses to move on to the next round, Marcio rushed up to thank the judges and reclaim Rashad’s golden ticket.
When the judges expressed their gratitude, the Compton native was overcome.
Pop artist Katy Perry told Marcio that they were looking for someone who could use song to communicate their feelings.
“God bless you for being such an amazing stand-up man,” Katy said in gratitude. “You set a fantastic example.”
Another difficult upbringing served as the catalyst for one of the night’s other musical highlights, as 22-year-old Brandon Elder sang an original song for his mother, who sadly died of cancer.
He claims that when his birth mother was only 15 years old, she “supposedly traded me for a car.”
Original song: In memory of his adoptive mother, who died of breast cancer in 2016, Brandon Elder performed a song of his own.
The woman who had accepted him at the time was likewise unable to support him until he was eventually adopted by the woman who raised him but died of breast cancer in 2016.
He recalled how his mother gave him his first guitar when she was already sick, saying, “I started singing a lot in front of her — she liked it, so I just kept singing.”
As he sang the song, dedicated to her and “the greatest love that anyone can ever know,” Lionel and Luke both glanced down multiple times, as if they were struggling to keep their emotions in check.
Strong bond: The 22-year-old artist was shown with his mother, who, after discovering she had cancer, adopted Brandon and gave him a guitar.
Luke said to him, “I’m really honored—you wrote a song with two chords that was magically crafted from the heart—something very few people can do.” “Friend, I think you just killed it.”
“You explained everything so that the first time you hear it, you understand it,” Lionel added, speaking for songwriters everywhere.
Grasping his heart, Lionel went on, “Man, that was … amazing.”
Feeling it: Both Lionel and Richie struggled to keep their emotions under check.
The American Idol judges chuckle when they remark, “I swear we’re all pros.”
