By Gavin Boyle
All three AMERICAN IDOL judges were touched by Christian singer Jordan McCullough and his amazing rendition of “Goodness of God” that he brought to his audition for the show.
“Goodness, can he sing! 🙌 Did @jordanmusic give you the goosies?” the official AMERICAN IDOL account posted on Instagram along with a clip of his incredible performance.
Related: Why So Many AMERICAN IDOL Contestants are Christian: ‘Back to Their Roots’
After the audition, the judges only had the nicest words and encouragements to say to McCullough as they voted him on to Hollywood week.
“You have been given an incredible gift. I love that you use it. I mean, the first two words out of your mouth, it was like, ‘ooh, oh yeah, okay.’ I just had chills pretty much the whole time, so it was great” Carrie Underwood said, adding, “It just felt like worship. It didn’t feel forced. It just felt like you were in the moment, and we were in the moment with you.”
McCullough joins a growing list of Christians who have used the show as an opportunity to not only get their talent discovered, but also proudly share their faith with audiences nationwide. While the show has always featured Christian singers, last year faith was on full display through the SONGS OF FAITH Easter special.
“It was a discussion that started at a dinner with the judges, some people from ABC, and myself,” AMERICAN IDOL showrunner and executive producer Megan Michaels Wolflick told The Rolling Stone of the special. It featured the three judges — Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie — along with all 20 contestants and some special guests.
“We watch myriad Christmas specials. We don’t ever see a faith-based spring Easter-style show. So we kind of embraced that. It was a special show, and people loved it; the ratings were pretty amazing,” she continued.
While AMERICAN IDOL has always featured talented musicians who are unafraid to share their faith, with the likes of Danny Gokey, Colton Dixon, Jordin Sparks and Lauren Daigle all having competed on the show, recently more and more competitors are coming to the stage with an active Christian faith.
“When we open our floodgates for auditions every spring, we don’t know what’s coming,” Wolflick said. “We follow the lead of who comes through our doors. What is happening in music today? And that, organically, in the last couple years, has been more and more faith-based music. Not intentional, but it was resonating with the public.”
Perhaps this influx of faith is exemplary of the way that Christianity is becoming important to more Americans as they find the world empty and realize they can only have true fulfillment through Christ. Praise the Lord for McCullough’s amazing talent. May he have great success on this season of the show.
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