During her initial American Idol audition, Lucy Love got a second chance. And she made the most of it, getting the go-ahead to the next round.
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On Sunday (April 2), Love performed the classic Bob Dylan song, “To Make You Feel My Love,” a track that Adele helped to make famous and has since become one of the most covered songs in modern popular music. The song helped Love get to the next round again.
Coached by Jordin Sparks, winner of the sixth season of American Idol, Love went into herself emotionally, learning about the song through the lens of her own pain. Love revealed that she is going through a divorce and she leaned on that emotion to deliver her rendition of the track.
Love, who has two young kids, said it feels like “somebody died.” But added, “It’s all good.”
“Ending my marriage changed my life drastically,” she added.
“Use it,” said Sparks. “This is an opportunity to live a dream.”
Bringing a smile, a style, a rich tone, and a big range, Love soared through the song, proving Richie wasn’t wrong to give her a second chance during her initial audition. The 28-year-old Love demonstrated many characters and vocal styles on her rendition.
In her first audition, Love sang Marvin Gaye’s classic song “Heard It Through The Grape Vine” with passion, bounce, joy, and flavor. The show’s judges—country star Luke Bryan, pop star Katy Perry and R&B star Richie—enjoyed the performance.
Richie, then, gave some constructive feedback. Love, who joked with the judges before she sang, maybe gave too much flavor to her tryout. So, after telling her story, the judges gave her another chance to prove her soul, talent, and demeanor.
“I’m from a long line of people who never had the opportunity to make something of themselves,” said Love. “I did not have a dad and my mom, she was kind of like in and out of our lives.”
She added, “Music was my safe haven, my refuge. Music was the thing that I did that I just knew that I could have self-esteem in. I could be fat, I could be ugly, but the one thing you cannot say is that I cannot sing.
“It took a long time for me to believe in myself,” she continued throughout her tryout video. “And now I believe in myself. And I deserve this.”
Richie told Love to take her time, forget the “gimmicks” and just sing her a song. Meaning, she could just show her talent, without the pomp and circumstance. That’s when Love excelled even further, singing “A Song For You” by Donny Hathaway.
With a smoky voice, Love earned her ticket to the show. But not before a few tears were shed. Bryan said he’d written her off, but after the second chance, she was in. “This whole journey is about proving people wrong,” said Bryan. “And you just proved me wrong.”
Check Love’s latest performance this week here below—one that earned her a standing ovation from the judges.
Love, who is becoming a fan favorite (see the tweet below, for example), ended up making it through to the next round.
ABC/Eric McCandless
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