It was another night packed with talent, as American Idol kicked off its third round of auditions in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday night (March 13). But perhaps no other contestant made an impression on judges quite like country singer-songwriter Emily Faith.
The 18-year-old rising talent, who grew up in Kingfisher, Okla., surprised the judging panel of Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie by telling them that she works at a family-owned funeral home with her dad.
“It’s wild! She’s a pocket full of sunshine,” Perry said, pointing out Faith’s sunny disposition and comparing it to that of her job title.
“I actually help my dad out sometimes with cosmetology,” the bubbly, blonde-haired hopeful explained. “It’s a very interesting side job.”
After sharing a bit of her home life, Faith launched into a female version of “Good Hearted Woman” — a duet written by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Her bright country vocals soared over her acoustic guitar as she wailed out the lyrics of the classic country tune, earning some comments of approval from the judges.
“You have a really, really, authentic country voice. It’s very natural,” Bryan said, raving over her delivery.
Richie added that he thought Faith’s voice was tailor-made for radio, noting, “You’ve got an FM voice, my dear.”
“Your voice is sweet. We want to pull you out of that because when you gave me that little growl in there, I was like, ‘Oh there she is!’” Perry added.
After receiving remarks from the judges, Faith scored a Golden Ticket to Hollywood.
Interestingly, she wasn’t the only singer of the evening to have a funeral-related job. Idol hopeful Donavan Diaz revealed that he works as a postmortem vascular surgeon.
“I’m starting to have death-talk anxiety,” Bryan joked before Diaz belted out a version of “He Stopped Loving Her Today” by the late George Jones.
Unfortunately for Diaz, his fate on Idol didn’t fare as well as Faith’s did. “Donavan. If I could be honest, I didn’t feel like I was like, well, it just didn’t give me life,” Perry said of Diaz’s performance.
With Diaz’s journey cut short, it’s a good thing he has a job to fall back on.
For Faith, only time will tell whether or not she will win over America’s hearts. The winner of American Idol, determined by public votes, will receive a cash prize and a record deal with Big Machine Records. American Idol returns with a brand new episode on Sunday, March 20, on ABC.
See American Idol Contestants Then and Now