Freddie McClendon, a 19-year-old Belmont University student from Greenwood, South Carolina, earned praise from Luke Bryan, who called him a “modern-day Paul Simon,” after performing a heartfelt tribute to his late father, Davis McClendon, during his American Idol audition.

Late Father, Davis McClendon, Who Was Killed By A Hit-And-Run Driver In 2023

Ahead of his Nashville audition, the contestant recalled one of the fondest memories he shared with his late father, Davis McClendon, who was killed via a hit-and-run homicide on May 7, 2023, at the age of 46.

“One of my favorite memories, I was around 15 years old, and my dad took me to Nashville for the first time. Seeing Music City and seeing Broadway, and he told me, he said, Freddie, that’s going to be you one day. You’re going to be that.”

After his father tragically passed away, Freddie knew he had to pursue music and was inspired to begin writing original songs. “So I’ve been writing music since I was about a freshman in high school, but I really started doing it seriously about a year ago, and my dad passed away,” Freddie explained. “On May 7th, 2023, my mom woke me up and woke my sister up and told us our dad had been killed, and we found out later that someone killed him. My dad and I had a great relationship. He was an absolutely wonderful person. He would do anything for anybody. We used to just talk about kind of everything, and he really understood me.”

Performs A Heart-Wrenching Original Song To Honor His Dad, Titled “You Never Loved Him”

Freddie McClendon delivered a heart-wrenching performance of an original song, titled “You Never Loved Him,” and it tells the story of his late father’s life. “My dad was killed in about a year ago in May 2023, and it became a national and statewide news story… Everyone was kind of focusing on his death and I wanted to tell the story of his life,” he explained.

“I miss him every day and while you’re already dealing with his death, you got to deal with all of these people talking about the person that he was when they didn’t know him like we did. Sweet. He was something so much bigger than just the true-crime story of the week. He was our dad, and he meant the world to us,” he continued before going on to perform the heartbreaking tune.

Wearing a pink polo shirt and jeans, McClendon allowed his unique vocals to shine through the emotional track. Watch Freddie McClendon’s American Idol audition below.

Brought Carrie Underwood To Tears

Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan were blown away and left speechless by his performance. Underwood was so overcome with emotion, she couldn’t even find the words to say and asked for “a second” to collect her thoughts as tears streamed down her face.

“I love the fact that you’re coming here and making it a positive statement that your daddy lived,” Richie said.

Underwood then said, “Thank you for bringing that and sharing your heart. And it’s so brave of you to decide that you want to choose the narrative. That you want to remember him, him, not what happened but him and you must have just an incredibly supportive family and you guys lean on each other. It was a good song, and you could just feel your heart behind it. Apart from that, your voice, there’s something super cool and throwback about it.”

Luke Bryan Called Him A “Modern-Day Paul Simon”

“You’ve got like a really honest approach at this time. It’s like our little modern-day Paul Simon or something,” Bryan added.

Richie then invited McClendon’s sisters and mother to join him in the room while the Idol judges reveal his fate. “You were able to translate that emotion, that feeling to the point where you move people and that’s what you are in this business to do. Your family outside the door? Yeah, we want to bring your family on this.”

“Alright, so Freddy played us a song that was a touching story and the love of dad was just amazing,” Richie told Freddie McClendon’s sister and mother.

Scored A Golden Ticket To Hollywood And Made His Late Father Proud

Ultimately, Freddie McClendon earned a golden ticket and advanced to Hollywood.

“I’m so proud that I was able to tell my dad’s story, and it meant the world that it resonated with Carrie Underwood and that was incredible, and I’m beyond blessed,” Freddie said after exiting the audition room with his golden ticket to Hollywood. “Dad, we’re going to Hollywood.”