American Idol 2024 Audition: Will Moseley Earns Golden Ticket with Original Despite Lionel Richie Leaving to Catch a Flight
American Idol season 22 continued Sunday night (March 3) with an auditioner interrupted by Lionel Richie needing to catch a flight. Twenty-three year old Will Moseley from Hazlehurst, Georgia has a large stature and is very tall, so it’s not surprising that he played football as an offensive lineman at Maryville college. “Football was a way of life, it was eat, sleep, breathe, wake up, repeat. I loved it,” he shared with the judges. (Read our Recap)
He called it a “blessing” to be able to play ball at the next level. Unfortunately, playing football on the offensive line can result in serious injury. Will suffered three concussions in the span of two seasons. He decided to move on from football, and that’s when he started playing guitar. And now, it’s getting on stage that provides an “adrenaline rush,” he said.
For the judges, Will sang an original titled “Gone For Good.” In the middle of his performance, Lionel left the audition to catch a plane, but still gave Will a quick yes. The remaining judges loved it, prompting Katy Perry to wave her arms, and Luke Bryan eventually joining him on piano to accompany him. Will stayed composed throughout, and sang like a pro. He has a deep voice with a hint of rasp and twang. It’s country, but has shades of southern rock in it. Although his style lends itself more to the country, his tone is reminiscent of early 2000s grunge rock bands like Creed, in addition to country singer Darius Rucker.
“I think Will is a Star”
As the audition wraps up, Katy facetimes Lionel. “I think Will is a star,” he said adding, “I love the timbre of his voice.” Katy described Will as “a winner from the very first note.” She added, “This isn’t a hobby, you’re not just doing this for one more year, you’re going to do this rest of your life.” Will received 3 yeses, moving the singer on to the Hollywood round.
If you enjoyed what you heard from Will, the full track is out on streaming services. Check it out here.
This week, although a step back from the first two episodes, had one other major standout other than Will, and that was Scarlett Lee, the former X Factor UK runner-up who looked up to Katy Perry and impressed her with a rendition of Emeli Sande’s “Clown.” The other enjoyable singers also included Kyra Waits who finally got her opportunity at an audition in front of the judges with Patty Griffin’s “Up To The Mountain” and country singing siblings, Max and Laela Dasher who impressed both in their solo auditions and when they dueted.
