When Jack Blocker auditioned for American Idol in 2023, he made history.

An impressed Luke Bryan compared Blocker to a young Paul Simon, but fellow judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie voted not to send the 25-year-old Dallas native and Nashville transplant through to Hollywood. Outraged, Bryan demanded the Idol crew weigh in — a first in the show’s two-decade run — and nearly everyone in the room raised their hands in support of advancing Blocker to the next round. And so, Richie agreed to change his vote.

By the end of season 22, Perry came around to Blocker too, even performing a duet with him during the finale. He finished in third place and returned home to his quiet life in Tennessee, where he began working on new music. The country singer booked small gigs to keep his name out ther

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