The Season 17 of the American Idol 2019 musical talent hunt show might have come and gone, but we are still reeling from the intrigues, the excitement and to some people, the surprising win of Laine Hardy in the show.
Interestingly, Laine never wanted to partake in the contest after being ejected in the 2018 edition. He merely accompanied a friend as a backup guitarist. When he picked up his guitar and played The Weight, the judges were so impressed that they urged him to go for it. Katy Perry encouraged him by telling him that ‘he could really win it this time’ and this started his journey to fame.
The Louisiana native who was star- struck after he was declared the winner by Ryan Seacrest has learnt a valuable lesson and that is ‘to never give up’.
We did a little background check on the new idol to find out more about him as well as the factors that saw him emerge winner of the keenly contested musical show.
American Idol 2019 Winner Laine Hardy
It has been a bumpy ride for Laine Hardy. After he was earlier kicked out at the very early stages last year, his mum reportedly said he took the defeat hard. Hardy, however, confessed that he was quite a green horn at singing as at that time. He then set out to sharpen his skills and was practically singing everywhere.
What made Laine Hardy show up on the idol’s audition again was to accompany his friend Ashton Gill as her guitarist. He thereafter impressed the judges so much that they offered him the golden ticket to Hollywood. He bested Alejandro Aranda and Madison Vandenberg in the final round of the competition after a nationwide vote to become the American Idol 2019, Season 17 winner.
Hardy’s days of mud riding in the swamps in his truck, skiing and swimming in his native town of Livingston, Louisiana now seem to be over. He is now fixing his looks by wearing fashionable suits and is also intent on recording an album and promoting his new single “Flame”
For achieving this feat, the 18-year-old will be receiving a paycheck of $250,000 for a completed album. $1000 dollars will equally be dished out to him per week while recording the album as well as $1000 for delivering a master recording.
What mostly worked to his advantage in the competition was the fact that he had participated in last year’s edition hence was no longer a newcomer. This adds up to his ability to reel out scintillating songs for his audience with a confidence he has built up since the previous year.
Although the first runner up, Alejandro Aranda played four original songs in the finale of the contest, perhaps Laine’s win proved that people preferred familiar hit songs in new renditions. With this win, Americans are sure ready to ‘party with a Hardy’, which is a slogan he coined for himself.
American Idol 2019 Judges
While Laine is still resting from the euphoria of his win, let’s take a quick look at the judges who have been instrumental in the selection process.
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Lionel Richie
This musical icon needs little introduction. The 69-year-old singer, actor, songwriter and music producer was notable in the ’80s and beyond for spilling out record-smashing hits. This includes Truly, Hello and Can’t slow down. He also co-wrote the charity song of 1985, “We are the world” in Union with Michael Jackson and several other artistes. The song sold over 20 million copies.
Lionel Richie has sold over 90 million copies in his musical career making him one of the greatest selling artistes of all time. In 2016, he was given the John Mercer award, which is the highest award in the songwriter’s hall of fame.
Katy Perry
Katy Perry (34) rose from a background in Gospel music to a career in secular music. After an unsuccessful album in the gospel genre, she ventured into popular music. This move soon proved to be a wise decision on her part because she later became a household name and has several awards in her coffers. She is equally listed among the highest earning women (2011-2018) by Forbes.
Her album “teenage dream” was released in August 2010 after she served as a guest judge on American Idol. The music went on to debut at no 1 in billboard 200 and sold 6 million copies worldwide.
Luke Bryan
Luke Bryan is a force to reckon with when it comes to country music. The 42-year-old is an American singer and songwriter. He often co-writes with Producer Jeff Steven. His first major breakthrough was All My Friends Say. The song peaked at no 5 in the Hot Country Songs chart after it’s release.
He is the recipient of Academy of Country Music Awards and also Country Music Association Award. He has sold an estimated seven million copies of his album worldwide.
Bryan was selected as a judge of American Idol in September 2016.
The level of synergy among the three judges is apparent in the way they have evolved from single entities to a united front. They have developed such rapport that Lionel Richie was reported to have said that he would not do another show without Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.
