Sam, who was diagnosed with autism but is high functioning, according to his mother Suzie, told judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, “I kind of shy away from singing for people. I have done some karaoke around our town and that was pretty exciting and that’s about it. I am going to be honest with y’all. I never thought I would be here in a million years.” When Sam, who performed Kacey Musgraves’ “Rainbow," finished singing, all three judges jumped to their feet. “You told us about your struggles,” Lionel said. “Now, you walk out here to American Idol with no other experience, and you have three judges giving you a standing ovation. I want you to know right now, we are so proud of you. Sam, you were born enough. What you consider your handicap is your gift. You understand me? You are enough.” As Lionel was near tears, he asked Katy to pick up the comments from the judges. “Sam, I think you picked the perfect song because I think there has always been a rainbow hanging over your head,” she told him. To which Sam responded, “I needed this song 20 years ago, I did.” “You are 28 and the moment is now,” Katy went on. “All you have to do is let go of all that fear and negativity and always sing from your heart. That’s all you have to do and that’s what you did just then. We felt that.” Then Luke jumped in saying, “I love an experience and that felt like an experience. Thank you for being here.” Of course, there was no doubt that Sam was getting a Golden Ticket to Hollywood after blowing the judges away. “He gave us the pure Sam and that’s all that matters,” Lionel told Suzie. And Sam, who was over the moon, said, “This was the best day of my entire life. This is my moment.” When Sam said he has no experience performing in public he wasn’t kidding. So far, his singing has pretty much been limited to his bedroom, basement, and the shower! “I don’t like talking about it usually, but I was always different as a kid,” Sam said in his video package. “I don’t connect with people very well. It’s just a small part of who I am, it’s not all of who I am. It was lonely growing up, but music was my best friend.” Suzie explained that music has helped Sam a lot. He puts in his earbuds and that’s how he learned to cope – and now he’s going to show America just how talented he is. “I am ready to go after my dream,” Sam said. “I’m afraid I’m not good enough, but right now at 28, I wanted to try before my age maxes out the age limit for Idol. I wanted to give it a shot, so here I am.” American Idol airs new episodes Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Next,American Idol 2022! Everything You Need to Know, Including the Two New Mentors and the Two Big Changes!
