The final round of tryouts for season 21 of American Idol airs on ABC on March 26 at 8 p.m. ET. During the two-hour program, many candidates from all over the United States will try to earn a place in the race by demonstrating their vocal skills. The winners of the competition receive a platinum pass, while the rest go home empty-handed.
Cam Amen, 27, grew up in foster care in Anderson, Indiana, and attended many secondary institutions in Lecanto and Crystal River before auditioning this week. As seen in the network’s test footage, he has a highly resonant voice that seems to please the judges. Judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie can be seen crying in a teaser video after hearing his vocal and dramatic life story.
Cam Amen, an American Idol nominee, breaks down in tears in front of the judges.
Amen is a Tik-Tok singing artist with over 3,000 followers and 17,000 favorites. He was taken away from his mother and grew up in a foster home. Cam described his American Idol tryout as “rough” before performing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and playing the sounds on a piano. He went on to say:
“We spent a long time in foster care.” I moved when I was 18 and took my brother and sister with me. I realized I had to raise them right and see them through high school.”
Amen has been raising his brothers alone for the past five years. During Cam’s tryout, Judge Luke Bryan couldn’t stop crying. Bryan received enthusiastic applause from the three judges and also stated:
“You’ve been through a lot, but the rest of your life is waiting for you, do you hear me?”
Cam, real name Cameron Osterloh, works as a waiter at City Fire in Florida and has a dog named Karma. He uploaded his first YouTube cover video of Parson James’ Waiting Game five years ago. Amen placed second in the Sanford Performance Challenge and won $500. He also played at a charity performance for Ukrainian migrants in Lady Lake.
The participant’s voice has a broad spectrum. In another interview, he discussed his American Idol tryout and said:
“I’ve worked so hard over the years to get myself to sing in front of people, so to know I’m singing in front of millions on television is incredible.”
On his Tik-Tok account, he plays many original songs and some versions, including I Will Always Love You, Lay Me Down, and It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday. Cam’s most popular movie is a competition duo where he sings Say Something with his grandmother. He revealed in the commentary of the video that his grandmother, who loved the song, died while he was singing it to her.
However, the American Idol video does not reveal whether Cam passed his tryout. Tune in to ABC on Sunday, March 26 at 8 p.m. ET to see if Cam Amen can make it through his American Idol tryout and move on to the Hollywood Week roundup. A day after the broadcast debut, fans will be able to watch the program on Hulu and the network’s website.
