Sophomore music education major Walker Burroughs catapulted himself into the “American Idol” Top 14 last night as part of the show’s Celebrity Duets round in which he was paired with one of his own musical heroes, Jason Mraz.
Burroughs noted that a Mraz song was the first he ever performed publicly, and he showed the American Idol guest artist a video of that performance when Burroughs was only 9 years old. “I’m dueting with Jason Mraz, and I’m super pumped about it because I have loved this guy since I was a kid! Now it’s this really awesome full circle that I’m literally singing with the person who wrote the song I first performed live. That’s super cool, and I’m really excited.”
Burroughs wasn’t the only one who was excited, as the audience in the venue and celebrity judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie all raved about the duo’s take on Mraz’s hit “Have It All.” Richie even went so far as to call it a “perfect performance.” Mraz himself noted, “[Walker] can croon, he can rap, and he can wale. He has it all.”
Tune in Sunday, April 14 from 7-9 p.m. Central on ABC to see Burroughs compete among the Top 14.
Last week’s recap:
Fellow Belmont alumni Kason Lester and Emma Kleinberg, were eliminated from the contest in the Showcase round after performing in front of a live audience in Ko Olina, Hawaii. In that round Burroughs impressed the judges with his performance of 5 Seconds of Summer song “Youngblood.” The performance inspired celebrity judge Katy Perry to declare, “…if you dress like Harry Potter and you sing, YOU WILL WIN THIS SHOW.”
Burroughs, a Birmingham, Alabama native, was sent into the Top 20 round in Los Angeles for another solo performance in front of a live audience. There Burroughs offered his take on the Bee Gees’ hit “How Deep Is Your Love,” leading Bryan to exclaim, “Walker, man, you just blew me away, brother… You just look like a seasoned pro to me. Good job!”
