American Idol 2021 Hollywood Week: Willie Spence Stays Consistent
Willie Spence wowed during his American Idol audition with his performance of “Diamonds” by Rihanna (Watch HERE), the song that made him go viral a few years ago. He sailed through to Hollywood Week with 3 yeses. It was pretty emotional and uplifting performance. At his audition, Willie shared his story of how he had lost 200 pounds, after experiencing chest pains and fearing what his symptoms could turn into.
Now, singing in front of judges Lionel Richie. Katy Perry and Luke Bryan for the Hollywood Week Genre Challenge (Read recap), Willie, 21, from Douglas, Georgia shares more of his story. After his video of “Diamonds” went viral, he moved out to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams. Fan comments and views convinced him that he had a shot at musical stardom. Check out his viral video that has over 11 million views.
After only a short time in LA, as his career began to take off, his mother had a stroke. He didn’t think twice, Willie moved home. In his video package, Willie’s mom expresses gratitude for her son’s selflessness. She calls American Idol his “second chance” to make it big. Willie, a really likable and seemingly very caring person, says he would do the same thing again and again.
Willie continues to wow with consistent vocals in the R & B lines. He sings “All of Me” by John Legend which is a singing competition staple. Willie’s vocals may be the best of the guys on the show, but I’m looking for something that stands out. Willie can sing his face off, but his song choices seem kind of bland and his tone doesn’t stand out to me. I still look forward to seeing him as technically speaking, he is excellent. I do think if he makes it far on the show, it’ll definitely be due to consistency as I doubt Willie will ever have a terrible performance with his set of pipes.
Willie has a massive following with 531K subscribers on his YouTube page HERE. I think Willie could take on some more current songs that aren’t quite as overdone and breathe some new life into them. Here’s his take on Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes” HERE. This is his most current original, “So Gone”. It’s a very smooth r & b vocal HERE.
Check out his Instagram and Tik Tok.
American Idol Hollywood Week: Willie Spence Performs John Legend’s “All of Me”
