This performance hands down wins the award for making you stop dead in your tracks and listen in awe.
During last night’s fourth episode of American Idol Season 24, the final set of introductory auditions took place at Belmont University in Nashville, and one singer had the judges mesmerized. 22-year-old Bella Emry, a waitress from Bend, Oregon, captivated the panel of Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie with her stripped-down performance of Morgan Wallen’s “I’m A Little Crazy.”
Emry noted pre-performance that her live singing skills had never left the small stages of school talent shows or her church. Yet despite her minimal exposure, Emry ended up being one of the most jaw-droppingly enchanting auditions of the night.
Nonchalantly sitting atop a wooden stool, flawlessly picking her acoustic guitar, her raw vocals were absolutely beautiful, echoing across the university room. The 2025 Wallen track, which was released as a promotional single for his March album, “I’m The Problem,” was the perfect melody to showcase Emry’s laidback vocals.
With all three judges completely immersed in her stunning performance, she earned a unanimous yes, sending her straight to next week’s Hollywood round on Monday, February 23. There’s something effortlessly cool about the young Oregon native, along with her underdog mentality, that makes her feel destined to go far in this competition. And since she chose a more mellow, less flashy song, it will be exciting to see how her calming voice translates to future performances.