SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – Texas Tailgaters player Jayson Arendt received a golden ticket to Hollywood week during Monday night’s season premiere of American Idol.
The Banana Ball player’s teammates gathered at Grayson Stadium facilities for a watch party to see Arendt’s audition.
Arendt has experience performing in front of thousands on stage and on the diamond, but he said performing in front of Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie was different and the nerves were flowing. He sang “Fire Away” by Chris Stapleton, a song choice made by him and his teammates that morning.
With support from his teammates in the room at the audition as well, Arendt secured three yes votes and the golden ticket.
Bryan then offered some constructive criticism, telling Arendt, “I used to try to sing everything as loud as I could. It took me years to kind of go, ‘you know, I don’t have to sing loud every time I can kind of calm it down.’ So just think about that.”
Richie was the first to vote “yes.” As Underwood prepared to cast her vote, Arendt’s teammates began playfully teasing her. “Come on. That’s an easy yes,” one of the teammate said with a laugh while flaunting his abs.
Underwood fired back, “I got my own set of abs to stare at it at home. Not mine, mine husbands. I want to know who you are as an artist, so I’ll say yes.”
With three “yes” votes, Arendt officially earned his golden ticket to Hollywood Week, which will take place in Music City this year. But the moment wasn’t over just yet. “You thought we were done?” Arendt asked the Idol judges before launching into a choreographed line dance to “Hicktown” by Jason Aldean. Luke Bryan immediately joined the Texas Tailgaters to show off his signature dance moves.
“I didn’t expect Luke Bryan to bust a move like that, but I guess you see something new every day,” Arendt admitted. “I’m going to Hollywood Week!”
Meeting talented artists
“The biggest takeaway was meeting a lot of cool people and really talented artists,” said Arendt, who is an outfielder and entertainer for the Tailgaters. “There’s hundreds if not thousands of really talented people that get to do that in some way, shape, or form every year, and for me it was really cool getting to meet people that are in the same scenario or different scenario as mine… that we all come together as artists and musicians and get to become friends, and I still talk to them every day.”
Arendt said his phone has not stopped buzzing for two days with support he did not know was there.