Lanii, a 19-year-old high school student from Phoenix, Arizona, overcame nerves and personal challenges to earn a golden ticket on American Idol with a powerful Demi Lovato cover, making her dad proud.
“I am feeling very, very nervous. I’ve had the jitters all day. Hopefully I can impress the judges. I will be giving it my absolute all,” Lanii explained ahead of her performance before entering the audition room.
Lanii told the judges that her American Idol audition was not only her first time visiting Nashville but also her first time flying. She had planned to come with her father, but he ended up in the intensive care unit (ICU) with liver failure due to struggles with a past alcohol addiction, so she took a leap of faith, flying solo to chase her dreams and make him proud.
“He’s in the ICU right now. So this is all for him. I’m doing this for him. He believed in me, and I’m here, and I want this more than ever now,” Lanii continued. “I’m very insecure about my voice, but my dad believed in me when nobody else did. He saw it in me even when I didn’t see it myself. My dad is the kindest person in the world, but at the same time, he was struggling with addiction since before I was born. There were so many nights I would just cry from watching my dad stumble upstairs. And he would say, ‘Tonight’s going to be my last drink every day.’ Recently, he has been getting better because he stopped, but he now has liver failure and is currently awaiting a transplant.”
She added, “I really want my dad to be in my future, but this could be my last chance to show him his daughter tried for him.”
Lanii then confidently showcased her vocal abilities with an impressive cover of “Tell Me You Love Me” by Demi Lovato. Tackling a song known for Lovato’s incredible runs and range, Lanii proved she has the vocal talent to match.
“Oh, tell me you love me/ I need someone on days like this, I do/ on days like this/ oh, tell me you love me/ I need someone/ on days like this, I do/ on days like this/ oh, can you hear my heart say/ ooohhhh, ooh/ no, you ain’t nobody ’til you got somebody/ you ain’t nobody ’til you got somebody,” Lanii belted out.
“Wow,” Richie said, before Underwood gushed, “You have an incredible voice. I don’t even know if you know what you could be capable of, but you completely owned that. It was awesome!”
Bryan complimented Lanii’s journey to Idol. “Some people’s journey to get here is a lot harder than others. And yours has been a hard one. And you’re just out here being so real and open with us, and you’re not hiding anything. You’re not trying to be something you’re not. You’re just being authentically you. And I don’t know. There’s just something really, really special about you, how brave you are to get on a plane and come out here and roll the dice and just sing your little heart out,” Bryan stated. “It’s what this show’s about.”
Richie, overcome with emotion, added, “You got me all messed up over here in the corner. So what you told us was about your dad and how you got here. And then you walked in this door with all this bubbling personality and gave us an artist. I think that’s what we’re kind of happy about. It’s pretty uplifting to see the human spirit. And you’re a perfect example of it. I really want to see you go forward. It’s a yes for me.”