Transgender American Idol auditionee Amari has won the hearts of viewers around the world after a show-stopping performance on the hit series.
As most people know by now (given we’re on season 22!), the long-running American singing competition sees a panel of judges critique a contestant’s performance and, if they like what they hear, they send the hopeful singer to Hollywood.
Amari is an energetic, bubbly 28-year-old transgender woman from Richmond, Indiana who works as a waitress, and the judges certainly liked what they heard from her in the latest episode of the show.
Star judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie watched in awe as Amari sang a stripped-back, acoustic cover of Britney Spears’ “Toxic” that showed off her impressive vocal range, as well as an unexpected horn improvisation where she imitated a trumpet with her voice.
“You’re so full of light and joy,” Perry told the smiley singer.
Though she loved the performance, Perry said she wanted to hear more from Amari and asked the singer what song encapsulated her journey of finding her true self.
Amari picked Sara Bareilles’s heartbreaking ballad “She Used to Be Mine”, a song written for Bareilles’s musical Waitress.
Amari then revealed to the judges that she’s transgender and reflected that during her transition she lost a lot of people in her life.
“It’s normal to lose a lot of people,” Amari explained. “I’m not mad at them. I understand. I don’t expect people to understand everything, I just want to love everybody.”
“So many people would’ve been really happy if I just stayed in my little box… and sometimes I miss that person,” she shared.
