Jayson Arendt, an entertainment baseball player with the Banana Ball League, earned three yesses with his American Idol audition.
Season 24 of American Idol is officially underway! The first stop of this season’s auditions was Belmont University’s Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Nashville.
The two-hour premiere episode featured auditions from 18 hopefuls as well as surprise guest appearances. Country star Brad Paisley showed up to help Luke Bryan pull off an epic prank on Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie. And last season’s finalist Breanna Nix accompanied 15-year-old Tate Emmons to his audition.
As fans have come to expect, the audition showcased talent from every imaginable genre and musical style. It also brought out some memorable personalities and stories.
Among those was Jayson Arendt, a singer-turned-baseball player. Arendt has amassed an impressive social media following thanks to his involvement with the Texas Tailgaters, a Banana Ball League team.
Several of his Texas Tailgaters teammates joined him for his audition and brought their energy to the room with a rowdy line dance. Luke Bryan hopped in to show off his dance moves before Arendt sang.
Jayson Arendt delivered a performance of Chris Stapleton’s “Fire Away.”
The 24-year-old North Carolina native accompanied himself on guitar for the soulful cover of the Chris Stapleton hit as his teammates cheered him on.
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Lionel Richie was the first to address the singer and told him he has a nice, distinctive voice, something they didn’t have yet this season.
Carrie Underwood was a little more hesitant to approve Arendt, saying that she would like to see him take “this part” of himself and take it more seriously. “You guys are obviously so much fun. I love it, and I want to feel you emote. I want to hear more.”
Ultimately, all three judges agreed and sent the baseball player through with a Golden Ticket.
See Jayson Arendt’s audition performance of “Fire Away” in the video below.
