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‘American Idol’ Contestant Has Great Music Taste, Covering Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson

During the most recent round of American Idol auditions, contestant Emily Faith took to the stage to perform Good Hearted Woman by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

During her performance, the American Idol hopeful revealed to judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie that she actually works at her family’s funeral home alongside her father. “It’s wild! She’s a pocket full of sunshine,” Perry declared. Meanwhile, Faith’s responded with, “I actually help my dad out sometimes with cosmetology. It’s a very interesting side job.”

After performing the Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson number, the judges approved the American Idol contestant’s voice. “You have a really, really authentic country voice. It’s very natural,” Bryan shared. Richie also commented that the American Idol contestant’s voice was made for radio. “You’ve got an FM voice, my dear.”

Perry went on to tell the American Idol contestant that she has a sweet voice. “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!’”

It came to no one’s surprise that Faith received a Golden Ticket to Hollywood. 

Waylon Jennings’ single Good Hearted Woman was originally released in December 1971. Nearly five years after its initial release, Jennings and Willie Nelson performed the duet version of the hit. It later became the first of three number ones on the country charts for the duo. 

‘American Idol’ Judges Open Up About What’s Important in the Competition 

During an interview with Good Morning America last month, American Idol judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie opened up about the “chemistry” that’s between them. Richie admitted, “I think it’s gotten. Honestly, it’s gotten better. Because now, I mean, when we first got in, Luke didn’t know Katy. I knew Luke, but I was wondering if that was going to work. Obviously, 15 seconds after they met, they were old friends.”

Bryan goes on to say that each American Judge knows how far to take the jokes. “If we’re not out there and we’re not putting out the vibes. It’s so fun sitting at that judging table because you never know if the next Jennifer Hudson is going to walk in. Or the next Carrie Underwood. So, it’s like, we got to be on our game.”

However, Richie side-stepped and talked about the importance of performing, not the numbers. “Let me think about that. What you’re saying. Jennifer Hudson was thrown off at number nine. So it’s not about one. What we try to tell these kids is, it’s not about any numbers. You can make a career once you get to 20. From 20 on, you’ve got a shot of this. But what we have to do is navigate.”