Hear more from American Idol’s Bryan Watt

Season 13

January 28, 2014 By Mark Franklin 0

Bryan Watt is the young man who rendered Jennifer Lopez speechless in Detroit.

And probably gave her the goosies, too.

Bryan Watt earned a ticket to Hollywood during the American Idol auditions in Detroit. (FOX Photo)

Identified as a 29-year-old nonprofit director from Thomasville, Ga., Bryan auditioned with Carrie Underwood’s “So Small.”

Jennifer could only let out a couple of admiring sighs when Bryan first finished the song.

Harry Connick Jr. had no such problem, complimenting Bryan on a “confident, patient, easy” performance.

Of course, the fact that Bryan is easy on the eyes probably played a part in J-Lo’s reaction.

But stepping away from Idol for a moment, Bryan identifies himself on Facebook and Twitter as co-founder of Inside Out Nation and Project Backyard.

The first strives to spread the word of God through “music, worship, teaching, prayer and service.” The second encourages volunteer projects to help the needy.

Which helps explain Bryan’s genre of choice on Facebook: Christian / country.

In his Road to Hollywood video, Bryan shares an interesting story of how he wound up auditioning for Idol in Detroit.

About five months earlier, his grandfather died and Bryan had the honor of singing at his funeral.

“This lady walked up to me afterward and she said, ‘You have a gift. If you don’t use it, you’re going to lose it,'” he recalls. “It was kind of a wake-up call type moment for me.”

Ryan lists his musical inspirations as Rascal Flatts, (Christian artist) Chris Tomlin and Carrie Underwood (“I’ve had a crush for a while now,” Ryan confesses.)

“I guess as an artist, what makes me unique is I’m pulling from different areas,” Ryan says. “I went to college for doing classical music. I’ve grown up with country music. I’m a southern boy and country music has been part of my life.”

And whatever music he performs, Ryan says he wants to share a message of “hope and faith.”

“I hope America’s gonna love it,” he says. “We’ll see what happens.”

If you’d like to follow Ryan, here are links to his Facebook page and Twitter account (@bwatt).

And here’s his audition again, plus one additional performance video.

For profiles of more than 90 other Season 13 contestants, head here.

“Amazing Grace”