WEYBURN – Weyburn singer Brayden King competed on TV’s American Idol, and is advancing from the “Hollywood Week” competition, after going through from the first part on Sunday night to the duets competition on Monday night.
While his performance was not featured either night, he posted on social media that he was given the nod by the judges to advance to Monday night, when the remaining contestants paired up for duets.
“They gave me a standing ovation, actually. I sang an original song called ‘Front Row’,” said Brayden on Monday of the judges’ reaction to his song on the Hollywood stage.
For the duets portion of the competition, Brayden paired up with Elliana Rogers, and they performed the song, “I Want To Know What Love Is”.
“Luke said it was the best version they’d ever heard,” said Brayden on Tuesday, noting he is now in the top 55 group of competitors.
“Showstopper is the next round airing this week. They will cut down to their top 24 after this,” he noted.
The contestants were paired up with a mentor to work on a specific area of performance, and Brayden had chosen songwriting as the area he wanted to work on, telling the judges, “I’ve got lots of stories to tell.”
Fresh off the American Idol stage, Brayden will be bringing his music to Weyburn, as he announced over social media he will be at the Weyburn Comprehensive School to do a concert for the students on Friday, April 21, in the afternoon.
Brayden noted that he’s not just getting local support from Weyburn and Regina, but people from right across the Prairies are urging him on, with even Premier Scott Moe extending best wishes on social media.
“That’s the coolest thing to have people cheering me on from all over.”
Brayden currently lives in Edmonton and has been extensively touring as he writes and records his original songs. He was part of the popular local band, The 7th Avenue, while attending high school at the Weyburn Comp School, before moving on to his solo career.
He performed in Weyburn last summer as part of the Young Fellows Club’s centennial outdoor concert in Jubilee Park.
