Luke Bryan Reacts After Contestant's Dad Storms Out Of Audition

Oct 29, 2021 by apost team

The competition is fierce on “American Idol,” which entered into its 19th season this year. In every city, thousands of contestants show up to audition for the popular reality TV show, and while there’s no doubt that many are talented, only a fraction of “Idol” hopefuls make it through the very first round.

Despite these odds, Dan Steakly of Gulfport, Mississippi, was not only certain that his 17-year-old daughter Danica would make it through the first round, but he was also sure that she would be the next “American Idol.” Before Danica’s audition, Dan looks into the camera and tells viewers that as soon as he heard his daughter sing, he “knew” that she would be the winner. He goes on to explain that his daughter’s “strong voice” is extremely versatile and that she isn’t set in any one genre. Getting through the first round would also be a great birthday present, Dan tells the camera, as he turned 73 the month of her audition.

With all that positive energy, Dan and Danica walk in front of the judges — Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan — smiling and unphased by the objectively daunting task of competing against tens of thousands of wannabe singers.

Before Danica even opens her mouth, the audition begins to go south, however. Dan’s guitar, which he brought himself, is obviously out of tune, and so he borrows one of the instruments on set.

With her father on guitar, Danica sings Hank Williams’ “I Can’t Help It (If I'm Still In Love With You)” a country-western tune from 1951.

Perry is the first to give Danica feedback. “You’re very talented,” she says, “but I think you’re 17. You can kind of hear it in your voice a little bit. The kind of little lack of experience. There’s a bit of a timidness or a shyness when delivering.”

While Danica seems receptive to the feedback, as the camera turns to her father, it’s clear that he’s a bit irritated by the criticism.

But all three judges are in agreement: while Danica is talented, she needs to grow as a singer before tackling a competition like “American Idol.”

“Well, Dad, I know this is quite frustrating to hear, and for you too, Danica,” Bryan says. “You have all the makings to grow into a really, really, really great singer … you’re not quite ready to tackle this competition.”

In the end, Danica only gets a “yes” from Perry, eliminating her from the competition.

Dan doesn’t respond well to the outcome. He barrels out of the room and then says, “I don’t even know any Luke Bryan songs anyway besides ‘Knockin’ Boots,’ before adding “Next time I’ll have her audition for ‘The Voice.’”

While Bryan wasn’t in the room to defend himself, he took to Twitter on Feb. 15 with a comeback: “Welp, hopefully @DanicaSteakley’s Dad knows your songs 

@blakeshelton haha! #AmericanIdol.”

Fans, who responded with plenty of laughing emojis, seemed to love the clap back. Others replied to Bryan’s tweet by criticizing Dan and his behavior on the show. 

“He was SO rude!!! I felt so bad for that sweet girl!” Tiffany Carrol wrote. 

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“I think if dad had stayed outside or home, things might have turned out different…” another Twitter user wrote. 

Season 19 ended in May 2021 with finalists Chayce Beckham, Grace Kinstler and Willie Spence battling it out for the show’s top spot.

According to Yahoo Entertainment, the finale began with Kinstler’s performance of Celine Dion’s “All By Myself,” one of the judge’s selections. That powerful rendition was followed by Spence’s interpretation of Ray Charles’ “Georgia On My Mind,” which led to a standing ovation. Finally, Beckham took on the Beatles’ classic “Blackbird.”

After two more rounds, “American Idol” had its winner: Chayce Beckham of Apple Valley, California. The win was made even more glorious given Beckham’s past. Before auditioning for “Idol,” the singer had been in a car accident and had struggled with addiction, according to Hollywood Life.

“To me, [winning] is my redemption,” Chayce told Hollywood Life. “There’s a bigger plan with all of this. I like to think that I am in charge of this ship, but I am not. God is guiding me through and putting me all the places I need to be. So, for me, it means the world that I have been able to turn it all around from where I was and do all of this. You never know who might be having a hard time with addiction and substance abuse and things like that. I know a lot of people reached out to me and said I give them hope. I hope I can show all these people, as well, that they can turn their lives around and do something good with it.”

What do you think of Dan’s behavior? What do you think of Danica's performance? Let us know — and be sure to pass this story on to others.