Acts of Kindness
Nick Townsend American Idol Audition Brings Judges to Tears
Both of the performer's brothers recently committed suicide, and judge Luke Bryan also had his own tragic story to tell.
Morgan Slimak
04.23.19

When Nick Townsend stepped onto the American Idol stage this year, his emotional story had judges and viewers alike in tears.

Nick is a middle child, and growing up, his younger and older brother were always a big part of his life. The three did everything together.

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Unfortunately, in the span of a few short years, both of his brothers committed suicide and Nick was left by himself.

It was a gigantic tragedy for the family. However, Nick drew strength from their passing. He knew that if his brothers were still around, they would want him to pursue his dream. For Nick, that dream was music.

“I know my brothers would want me to keep pursuing my dream and be really proud that I’m here,” Nick said.

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After his older brother passed, Nick decided to go to Japan to teach. It was his way of healing. However, shortly after, his younger brother took his own life as well. Leaving his younger brother so soon after the initial tragedy was one of Nick’s biggest regrets.

“It made me feel selfish, you know? Because I left my little brother when I could have been there,” Nick said.

“All I can think about is he needed me and I left him.”

Now, on the American Idol stage, Nick finally had a chance for a fresh start, if only he could forgive himself…

The song he chose to perform was James Bay’s “Let It Go”.

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As Nick started singing, you could see tears well up in the judges’ eyes.

There was just so much emotion in his voice. Nick also played the guitar as part of the performance, and his voice and playing were in perfect sync. It was a beautiful moment.

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Nick finished the track to all three of the judges applauding him.

It looks like they saw exactly what we saw as an audience — something extremely special. Nick Townsend is quite a talented young man.

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“Now, for your voice, there is a wonderful quality in a voice that you can’t study. It’s called a natural cry. In our business, we call that money,” judge Lionel Richie joked in an attempt to lighten up the moment.

Katy Perry commented that Nick had a beautiful dynamic in his voice, and she loved how he started slow, and then the performance sort of built up in a crescendo.

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However, probably the most touching moment was when Luke Bryan chimed in.

It turns out, Luke has a similar history to Nick in regards to experiencing family tragedy.

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“I haven’t brought this up on this show because I haven’t had to,” Luke said.

“But, I’ve lost both my siblings and I just applaud you for keeping a positive attitude and continuing to fight and just trying to be a light for your parents.”

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The end result of the audition was a unanimous yes from all three judges, sending Nick on to the next round of the competition.

He definitely deserved it. He has been through so much and we can only hope that he continues to shine as this year’s season of American Idol unfolds. His brothers would both be so proud of him.

Watch the entire video of Nick Townsend’s emotional American Idol 2019 audition below to get the full recap of his story.

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