Charlotte airport pianist makes Top 20 on ‘American Idol’ — now it’s time to vote
A local singer and musician is still on his way to winning this season of “American Idol.”
Spoiler alert: After the first round of nationwide voting, 24-year-old Josh King from Matthews made it to the Top 20.
One by one, every finalist was called to the stage to sing in hopes of continuing on in the competition — including the volunteer pianist at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, who was one of the first announced.
‘Everyone’s favorite airport pianist’
All season long, Josh has been working to showcase his skills outside of the “lounge mode” impression he gave off during his audition to the judges.
“I wanted to prove that I’m not loungey. I do have a place on this show,” King said beforehand.
And yet again, he did just that in a tender performance of “You are so Beautiful” by Joe Cocker — a song he sang while thinking of his mother in the audience (who, of course, had the most heartwarming reaction when he shared that with judges.)
Here’s a snippet of some of the their reactions:
Carrie Underwood: “The sweet and soft side of Josh…You’re normally like Mr. Life of the party, joking, joking and you come out and just make us smile. I love that you displayed your sweet, soft side.”
Luke Bryan: You’ve got so many of the tools to really, really be something and that’s what’s really cool about you. You keep us guessing. You keep us surprised every time you perform and that was another well done, perfect moment for you. I was totally locked in to everything you were doing… I wanted to be your mama.”
Lionel Richie: “A lot of times, people give a lot of flash and bang and poof…but to take a song all the way down to simplicity — you are the storyteller, you are the deliverer of the vocals and every breath, we were hanging on. Great job.”
Now he and the remaining finalists are hoping they’ll move on and make it to the Top 14, which will be announced during Monday night’s episode. But there’s still time for you to vote to help make that happen.
How to vote for Josh on ‘American Idol’
Sunday night’s voting window opens near the end of the East Coast broadcast at 11 p.m. and will close tomorrow morning at 9 a.m.
Votes can be submitted at AmericanIdol.com/vote, in the American Idol app or by texting the contestant’s number you would like to vote for to “21523.” You must be at least 16 years old and located in the U.S., Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands to vote online.
Fans are allowed to submit up to 10 votes for each remaining contestant per voting method.
How to watch ‘American Idol’
New episodes of “American Idol” are released every Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC and the next day on Hulu.
This story was originally published April 20, 2025 at 9:48 PM.
.jpg)