{"id":15050,"date":"2025-04-13T18:01:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-13T18:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=15050"},"modified":"2025-04-13T18:01:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-13T18:01:05","slug":"skip-to-content-litaglobal-com-search-home-uncategorized-a-19-year-old-belmont-university-student-from-greenwood-south-carolina-delivered-a-deeply-personal-and-emotional-audition-on-american-idol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=15050","title":{"rendered":"Skip to content litaglobal.com Search Home Uncategorized A 19-year-old Belmont University student from Greenwood, South Carolina, delivered a deeply personal and emotional audition on American Idol, paying tribute to his late father, who was tragically killed in a hit-and-run at the age of 46. His heartfelt performance left the judges in awe, with Luke Bryan praising him as a \u201cmodern-day Paul Simon.\u201d The moving audition struck a chord with the panel and viewers alike, proving that music can turn pain into something truly powerful. A 19-year-old Belmont University student from Greenwood, South Carolina, delivered a deeply personal and emotional audition on American Idol, paying tribute to his late father, who was tragically killed in a hit-and-run at the age of 46. His heartfelt performance left the judges in awe, with Luke Bryan praising him as a \u201cmodern-day Paul Simon.\u201d The moving audition struck a chord with the panel and viewers alike, proving that music can turn pain into something truly powerful."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Freddie McClendon Brings Carrie Underwood to Tears With Heart-Wrenching Tribute To Late Father Davis On \u2018American Idol\u2019<\/h1>\n
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Luke Bryan dubbed Freddie McClendon a \u201cmodern-day Paul Simon\u201d after his emotional American Idol audition that honored his late father, Davis McClendon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Freddie<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Freddie McClendon, Carrie Underwood; Photos Courtesy of American Idol via ABC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Freddie McClendon<\/strong>, a 19-year-old Belmont University student from Greenwood, South Carolina, earned praise from Luke Bryan, who called him a \u201cmodern-day Paul Simon,\u201d after performing a heartfelt tribute to his late father, Davis McClendon, during his\u00a0American Idol<\/em> audition.<\/p>\n

Late Father, Davis McClendon, Who Was Killed By A Hit-And-Run Driver In 2023<\/h2>\n

Ahead of his Nashville audition, the contestant recalled one of the fondest memories he shared with his late father,\u00a0Davis McClendon, who was killed via a\u00a0hit-and-run homicide\u00a0on May 7, 2023, at the age of 46.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne 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\u2019s going to be you one day. You\u2019re going to be that.\u201d<\/p>\n

After his father tragically passed away, Freddie knew he had to pursue music and was inspired to begin writing original songs. \u201cSo I\u2019ve 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,\u201d Freddie explained. \u201cOn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Davis McClendon And Son Freddie McClendon, Photo Courtesy of American Idol via ABC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Performs A Heart-Wrenching Original Song To Honor His Dad, Titled \u201cYou Never Loved Him\u201d<\/h2>\n

Freddie McClendon delivered a heart-wrenching performance of an original song, titled \u201cYou Never Loved Him,\u201d and it tells the story of his late father\u2019s life. \u201cMy dad was killed in about a year ago in May 2023, and it became a national and statewide news story\u2026 Everyone was kind of focusing on his death and I wanted to tell the story of his life,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI miss him every day and while you\u2019re already dealing with his death, you got to deal with all of these people talking about the person that he was when they didn\u2019t 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,\u201d he continued before going on to perform the heartbreaking tune.<\/p>\n

Wearing a pink polo shirt and jeans, McClendon allowed his unique vocals to shine through the emotional track. Watch Freddie McClendon\u2019s\u00a0American Idol<\/em>\u00a0audition below.<\/p>\n

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