Liahona Olayan was nervous when she entered the big room with her older brother, Amon, to audition for “American Idol”.
Lights and cameras were everywhere, and celebrity judges – megastars like Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie – were sitting in the distance on a platform that lifted them slightly off the ground.
“It looked like they were on pedestals looking at us,” Olayan recently told Deseret News. “I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I have to get out of here. ‘”
But during the audition that aired Sunday night, those nerves seemed to dissipate when Liahona Olayan opened up to the judges about his family and education. When she sat down at the piano to perform an original song called “Listen to My Heart” with her brother, the 17-year-old singer was completely in her element.
And all three “Idol” judges were surprised.
“I don’t even know what you were singing, nor do I know what was going on,” Bryan told the pair of brothers after the performance. “All I know is that I was loving the wisdom of it. I mean, Liahona, you have a voice like we can write a song, record it and it’s ready for the radio.
“You complementing each other is absolute magic,” continued the country singer. “I think the sky is the limit, and I’m freaking out.”
Richie praised the brothers for writing their own songs – a skill the duo developed five years ago while living in a tent in Hawaii with their large family (they are the oldest of eight children). Since then, the brothers – who now live in Vineyard, Utah, have released an EP and participated in the 2020 youth theme album for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Liahona Olayan told American Idol judges that she and Amon wrote “Listen to My Heart” to express their love for their brothers and how they sometimes say things they don’t want to say.
“I think what is missing now is that everything is so artificial, and the beautiful part of it is that it is so new,” said Richie. “I like what you two did. You brought it to the table. “
Perry compared the style of Liahona Olayan to singers like Lorde and Alessia and told the brothers that they had a definite future as songwriters.
“I think you are on the right track,” she said. “You are incredibly talented. Incredible composers – like, should be signed up now. ”
“Find that tent you were in and put it in your yard somewhere,” said Richie. “I want you to write more songs from that tent.”
“It could be at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame someday,” Bryan added with a laugh.
And then the three judges gave the Liahona and Amon a “yes”, sending the brothers to the next round of the show, which begins on March 21.
Regardless of how far they end up going on “American Idol,” Liahona Olayan previously told Deseret News that she was very happy to share this once in a lifetime opportunity with her brother.
“He was my inspiration and he always was,” she said. “Being on ‘American Idol’ is still crazy to sue, but you know, after all we’ve been through, it’s like a dream comes true.”