Isaiah Moore, a 22-year-old from Springville, will make his "American Idol" debut on Sunday.
Moore, a former Gadsden State Community College, called the appearance "an exciting time" in his life.
“This is such an exciting time in my life,” Moore said via Gadsden State Community College. “It was a surreal moment to stand in front of such legendary judges and perform for them. The entire experience was a large bag of emotions – nervousness, excitement and pure joy. I’m beyond grateful for this opportunity.”
Moore received a Gadsden State Community College music scholarship after being exposed to the Gadsden State Show Band following a high school performance.
According to the college, "Moore’s love for music began at a young age when he sang along to the radio during car rides with his grandmother."
"In middle school, he excelled at playing the trumpet and eventually learned to play the guitar and piano. Eventually, Moore formed a duo called Southbound Music with high school friend, Caden Mobley. They currently perform in various Alabama cities, including Trussville, Gadsden, Auburn, Tuscaloosa and Montgomery," the college wrote of Moore.
The musician enrolled at Gadsden State in 2020 but struggled due to the shift to online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“At first, college was tough,” he said. “Studying online wasn’t the right environment for me at the time.”
He returned to Gadsden State in 2022 and became even more immersed in the music program there, joining the vocal groups at Gadsden State and earning another scholarship.
Moore is currently taking a break from his coursework to focus on ABC's "American Idol" and his position as worship leader at Redeemer Community Church. He plans to return to the school to complete an associate degree in general studies and aspires to become a music educator.
Moore’s “American Idol” journey began with a virtual audition on August 23, his 22nd birthday. After signing up to audition multiple times and “chickening out,” his wife Abby pushed him to go through with it.
“My wife sent me the link and pushed me to do it,” he said. “I woke up that morning and decided that it was finally time for me to audition.”
Moore was put into a queue of 150 people who were waiting to participate in the virtual audition.
“I’m impatient,” he said. “I told Abby that I wasn’t going to wait all day. The Lord must have heard me say that because two minutes later, I was put in a private virtual room to sing for a producer.”
After singing for a producer, Moore was moved to the Winner’s Circle, which was singing for an executive producer.
The executive producer advanced Moore to the live auditions in Nashville to sing in front of celebrity judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood.
“There are parts of the audition experience that I don’t remember so I’m excited to see how it all played out,” he said. “I’m super excited about people seeing my audition and hearing my story. I’m looking forward to it.”
Moore's audition will air on Sunday at 7 p.m. on ABC.
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