Judges Demand 2nd Song After Weak Chris Stapleton Cover Doesn’t Impress

YouTube/American Idol

The young country singer brought his guitar out and tried his hand at a big and boisterous Chris Stapleton song before the judges requested he sing something different.

22-year-old Daniel Ethridge has been singing his whole life and has been in love with country music since his family moved to Austin, Texas when he was just 10 years old.

A massive inspiration in his life, his little sister has always been a huge supporter and his biggest fan. Before his audition, she drew a cute crayon portrait of him for good luck.

Singing “Fire Away” by Chris Stapleton, Ethridge’s voice endured some questionable ups and downs before the judges cut his performance short.

“Daniel…” Katy Perry said with a sigh. “Do you have, uh, something original you could share with us?”

With that, Ethridge explained the backstory to a song he wrote for his little sister after she was picked on in school.

Strumming away, he jumped right into this sweet and emotional song that came straight from his heart. All the judges’ faces washed over with smiles and surprise as they realized his true talent.

Watch this surprisingly-good audition in the video below and find out if they think he’s good enough to go to Hollywood.

Tell us your opinion of his performance in the comments. Would you vote him through to the next round?