Megan Danielle made it into the group of eight finalists on “American Idol” Monday night with a song that had one of the judges praising her commitment to her faith.
The 21-year-old waitress from Douglasville, Georgia, sang “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” in remembrance of her grandfather, at whose funeral she had sung the same song about a year earlier.
“I can’t imagine what you were feeling during that performance,” host Ryan Seacrest told Danielle after the song. “You definitely honored him.”
Judge Luke Bryan then revealed that he had been the one to choose the song for her, then complimented the singer for her courage in sharing faith.
“What I love about you — I mean, we’re way beyond loving your voice — is you’re, you know, you’re never scared to tell everybody your faith,” Bryan said.
You can see her performance and the judges’ comments here:
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“That song’s meant a lot to me, and my loss,” Bryan said. “And you were perfect. You were perfect.”
Bryan may have been referring to the loss of his brother in 1996 in a car accident, and his sister, who died suddenly in 2007 from unknown causes.
“They never determined what happened. The autopsies, the coroner, no one could figure it out,” Bryan said years later in an interview cited by CMT.
The country singer said at the time that it took him a while to come to peace with God after the deaths.
“I don’t like it,” he said. “I don’t like that my sons are missing that side of my family. But someone else is deciding things.”
But he wasn’t the only one to praise Danielle’s performance Monday night.
“I’m going to tell you something: You have the amazing ability to touch,” judge Lionel Richie told Danielle. “A lot of people can sing, but you have an amazing ability to touch.
“Your voice is so powerful when it comes down to just telling your story,” he said. “I saw you at the beginning crack because you almost kind of lost it, but even that worked as far as telling your story.
“I know your paw-paw is very, very happy with what you did today,” he said, referring to her late grandfather.
Even Katy Perry agreed that the song was “Heaven-sent,” because Bryan hadn’t known anything about Danielle’s prior performance of the song in her grandfather’s honor.
“It’s a wonderful confirmation,” Perry said.
In a recent post, Danielle said, “I was born to share the love of Jesus.”
“This was one of my most challenging performances but what a way to honor my papa! Thank you God!” she wrote on Instagram after the performance.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
