American Idolcontestant Christian Guardino left judgeKaty Perryteary-eyed with his powerful performance of aJohn Lennonclassic.
On Sunday’s episode of the iconic singing competition series, the 22-year-old aspiring musician delivered a soulful take on the late former Beatles member’s signature 1971 hit “Imagine,” garnering emotional responses from all three judges — specifically Perry, 37, who was reaching for tissues midway through the performance.
Throughout his performance, Perry was seen dabbing tears away from her eyes with tissues before getting out of her chair with fellow judgesLionel RichieandLuke Bryanat the end to give Guardino a standing ovation. “Katy, how many stages of ‘cry’ are there? Because Katy has went through all the consonants of crying,” said Bryan, 45, after the contestant finished singing. “Oh my goodness. [Christian,] you just slayed that performance. I didn’t hear anything but perfection.”
Christian Guardino.ABC
Having stopped crying and dried her eyes, Perry then told Guardino she was especially impressed with his talent and composure given his backstory, as the contestant had previously gone blind due to a rare condition before undergoing experimental surgery at 13 years old and regaining his vision.
“Hearing what you have overcome and the mountains you’ve climbed and the attitude of gratitude that you have, and then you sing ‘Imagine,’ which is a world-changing song…you were put on this planet to do something super powerful and you are doing it right now and in this room,” the “Never Really Over” singer said. “God bless you, Christian.”
Earlier this month, Guardino spoke to theNew York Postabout the “rare disorder” that caused his blindness and how doctors were able to reverse it through surgery. “I was born with a rare disorder called Leber congenital amaurosis, but we call it LCA,” he told the outlet. “It’s a disorder that causes a gene that’s missing in your eye, because if the gene isn’t there, it’s not producing proteins that your cells need to live, so they all start to die off and then it causes inevitable blindness.”
Prior to his time onAmerican Idol, Guardino appeared on America’s Got Talent at 16 years old in 2017 and sang a cover of The Jackson 5’s “Who’s Lovin You” to positive reception from notoriously tough judgeSimon Cowell. “You are one of my favorite contestants I’ve seen this year. Not only in terms of your voice. I just like you,” he told the then-teenager, who teared up onstage. “There’s something about you, and it’s just the best possible feeling when we meet someone like you.”
source: people.com
