Last December Clark Beckham’s mother sent him a video of a few vocalists, and one in particular stood out to him, according to Billboard magazine.
“My mom insisted that I listen to one of the girls singing in the video. Her name is Madison Ryann. Her vocal tone floored me — as in, I literally fell to the floor!” Clark tracked the Oklahoma singer on twitter and discovered more of her videos.
Madison had watched some early seasons of American Idol, but not season 14, and was not familiar with Clark. “After hearing Clark sing just a couple songs, I contacted him and asked if he would be interested in us covering a Chris Stapleton song. The very first trip I took to Nashville, my dad and I drove and I played ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ in the truck too many times to count.”
“I was a huge Oklahoma Sooners fan growing up and haven’t missed watching or listening to a football game since I was 10 years old. Earlier this month I was scheduled to sing the National Anthem at an Oklahoma basketball game. I met up with Madison and we talked about doing a video of the song.,” said Clark. “Coincidentally, she was scheduled to be in Nashville, where I live, that weekend and we decided to get my crew together and shoot the video during the short time she was there. It’s a soulful, bluesy song and what really sold me on it was thinking of the possibility to harmonize with each other on that iconic riff Chris does. When we nailed that run the first time we sang it we knew the video was going to be something special.”
No wonder Clark was impressed. Madison’s smoky tone and phrasing are gorgeous. Plus she and Clark harmonize beautifully together. Check out their “Tennessee Whiskey” music video now if you have not already.
Clark will take part in the American Idol season finale with a slew of other alums. Tune in on FOX April 7.
