Andrew Scholz was 18 when he walked onto The X Factor USA stage. He told the judges he was technically still a student and would graduate that Saturday. One judge called him a nice country boy, and the audience loved him before he sang a note.
Backstage, he said the opportunity meant everything to him. Winning would change his life, and he believed he had what it takes to be a star.
His first song did not go well. One judge said he looked glued to the microphone and it felt a bit like karaoke. Another said his voice was not bad, but he did not look comfortable and it felt awkward. A third said she did not understand the song choice at all.
Then Simon spoke up. He said he disagreed with all three of them. It was not perfect, but Andrew had charisma, which is part of the X Factor, and with the right training his voice could be good. He asked him to sing something else 🎤.
Andrew switched to A Little More You, a country song, and suddenly he looked like a different performer. One judge said that totally changed everything and made much more sense than the first song, maybe that was his direction. Paulina, Kelly and Demi all said yes, and Simon added his yes too. The boy who almost went home left with a big smile ❤️.
