Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Lots of singers have received golden tickets on American Idol over the years.

Not many have been handed the golden ticket by one of their own children.

Maurice Allen has advanced to the Top 30 on American Idol. (FOX Photo)

In a season short on bio pieces, we not only got to meet Maurice, but his wife and four children as well.

And after he wowed the judges with a performance of John Legend’s “So High,” Idol invited the entire family into the audition room and even had one of his children present him with his golden ticket from the judge’s table.

As for that audition … well, Keith Urban said he just “sat back and was enjoying the show. That never happens.”

Maurice has continued to impress since then. His splendid cover of the Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” was featured in the final round of Hollywood performances, helping him earn a spot among Idol’s top 15 guys.

Maurice, 26, is music minister at Living Word Christian Center in Grand Rapids, Mich., and says his age had something to do with his decision to audition for Season 13.

Idol caps its eligibility at 28, and Maurice said he wanted to be sure to try out “before my time ran out.”

As for musical inspirations, Maurice includes his father, who played guitar, and John Legend. And, as a youngster, he recalls getting a Mariah Carey cassette tape and learning “every single song.”

He thinks his ability to cross genres will serve him well and told a local TV station that working as a music minister at his church for the last seven years has helped him become a better performer.

“I know that I’m someone that America can love, wants to love and will love,” says the guy who had hundreds of supporters turn out at his church to watch his audition episode and last week’s show when he advanced to the Top 30.

If you’d like to follow Maurice, here’s a link to his Twitter account (@motownsinger87)

Maurice is the only member of the Top 30 I haven’t been able to find pre-Idol performances for.

So here are his audition and Hollywood clips, just in case you missed them.

“So High” at Detroit audition

“Wrecking Ball”