Jacob Tolliver shows off his piano skills during an audition for American Idol Season 14. (FOX Photo)
The 20-year-old from Massachusetts now lives in Las Vegas while he’s the Jerry Lee Lewis understudy in a show called Million Dollar Quartet, featuring the music of Lewis, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins.
So for his Idol audition, Jacob hopped behind a piano and delivered a cover of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” complete with a very impressive performance on the keys.
But Harry Connick Jr. noted the “mimicry” isn’t going to win American Idol. So the judges asked for another song.
This time, the 20-year-old delivered a soulful performance of “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith and sailed to Hollywood with a unanimous yes vote.
What the show didn’t show: According to Jacob’s Facebook bio, he got serious about music in high school and even back then gravitated toward “old-school heroes” like Dick Van Dyke, Tony Bennett and Jerry Lee Lewis.
He was just 19 when he joined “Million Dollar Quartet” as the Jerry Lewis understudy in 2013.
And he’s currently running an indiegogo campaign in hopes of raising $50,000 to fund a debut album.
“Since I was a small kid, playing piano in Portsmouth, Ohio, making an album has been a dream of mine,” he says in his indiegogo video.
He doesn’t specify the type of album he hopes to make, but does say it will include “all original work.”
Oh, and that audition tune. He also plays the song in YouTube video called “Crazy Random Guy Rocks Out in Hardware Store.” The video has received more than 355,000 views.
Here are some Jacob links, followed by samples of his music.
Facebook
Twitter: @jacobt34
YouTube
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