The 19-year-old brought Carrie Underwood to tears with a song honoring his father, Davis McClendon.
The track was dedicated to his late father, Davis McClendon, whose 2023 hit-and-run deathmade national news.
“He was our dad.
Freddie McClendon on ‘American Idol’.Credit:Disney/Eric McCandless
He meant the world to us.”
Davis died at 46 on May 7, 2023.
“We never got to see him one last time, we never got to tell him goodbye.
Davis McClendon on ‘48 Hours’.CBS
Afterward, his performance was met with astonishment amongst the judges.
“You’ve got a really honest approach to this thing,“Luke Bryantold him.
“It’s like our little modern-dayPaul Simon.”
Freddie McClendon on ‘American Idol.Disney/Eric McCandless
And that’s what you’re in this business to do.”
Not what happened, but him,” she said.
Freddie then received a unanimous “yes,” confirming that he would advance to the next round.
Watch Freddie’s ode to his father in the audition clip above.
