Canada’s Lauren Spencer-Smith impressed the celebrity judges on American Idol with her audition on the episode that aired Sunday night.
The 16-year-old from Nanaimo, B.C. sang P!NK’s “What About Us” for Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan at the Sun River Resort in Oregon in early November.
“You have such a God-given gift,” Perry gushed. “You may be 16 but that voice is 1,000 years old. You have a bit of a Leona Lewis vibe to your voice but it is very much you.”
Richie opined: “You are wise and gifted well beyond your age. Amazing control. I just think you did a great job. You just continue going down that road and you can make something happen on this show. I really love what you just did.”
Bryan called Spencer-Smith’s voice “super interesting.” He said: “You have this tone that is making us very intrigued by you.”
Not surprisingly, she earned a “yes” from all three judges – and a golden ticket to Hollywood.
Spencer-Smith was contacted by a casting agent about appearing on American Idol, which has started accepting singers from north of the border.
“Vancouver Island is not too big of an island, not that many people,” she said on the episode. “I feel like I’m a very little girl with a huge dream and that American Idol will help me achieve that dream in so many different ways.”
Viewers will have to wait and see if Spencer-Smith makes it through "Hollywood Week,” which was taped in December. Next week she will be in Saskatoon for the Juno Awards, where her debut album is up for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year.
American Idol airs Sunday nights on CTV (part of the parent company of this website).
Watch the audition below: