Kamloops teen Cameron Whitcomb made it through the latest round of American Idol Sunday, successfully partnering with Tristen Gressett for the duets competition.
Whitcomb, 18, and Gresset, 17, earned a standing ovation from judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan for their rendition of Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival, before being moved on to the next round.
Host Ryan Seacrest said on Twitter that the “energetic pair controlled their voices and then erupted with power.”
To cap off the whole performance, Whitcomb, a pipeline worker, celebrated with a backflip, a skill he’s shown judges a few times already.
On Monday, both will get to perform in the Showstoppers episode. That’s when his growing fan base will find out if he made it to the top 24.
Whitcomb made it through a “genres” round earlier this week but it was the initial auditions, where he sang Rock, Salt and Nails by Waylon Jennings, where a TV audience was first introduced to the B.C. teen.
He wasn’t the only B.C. teen to have impressed judges enough to get a “Golden Ticket” to Hollywood.
He was joined by Eshan Sobti, 17, from Mission, B.C., who sang Half a Man by Dean Lewis to judges. Earlier this week his American Idol journey came to an end.
“Unfortunately, Hollywood Week marks the end of my American Idol journey this year. But that’s ok! I’m super grateful for this experience and everything that it’s taught me,” Lewis said.
“Making it to Hollywood is a huge accomplishment for me, so this is a win in my book. 100,000 people applied for the show this year and being 1/5 Canadians to audition and making it to the top 150 in Hollywood is insane to me!”