Lionel Richie brought to tears by blind 'Idol' contestant: 'you have wrecked me'
A Very Special Episode of American Idol brought all the feels this Wednesday, via two emotional-rollercoaster hours of auditions ranging from a screaming drill sergeant to a telenovela scenery-chewer. But it was 17-year-old Shayy Winn and 15-year-old Ethan Payne that really had viewers -- and judge Lionel Richie -- reaching for the triple-ply Kleenex. These kids had two of the most inspiring backstories in Idol history, but even more importantly, they had the talent to back it up. First up was Shayy, a performing arts student who went legally blind a year ago due to a brain tumor, only 50 percent of which could be safely removed. “The doctors say I am a question mark,” Shayy told the judges when asked her long-term prognosis. When the newly vision-impaired Shayy recently returned to school with her cane, she was ruthlessly bulled. (Some especially cruel students even KICKED HER CANE! Who does that???) But this week, the resilient singer channeled all of her heartache into a gorgeous and pitch-perfect audition of Andra Day’s triumph-of-the-spirit anthem “Rise Up.” And Lionel lost it. Lionel started getting weepy practically the moment that Shayy, still and stoic in the center of the room, gripping her cane, let out her first elegant note. By the time she was done, he was a blubbering mess. “You have wrecked me,” he told Shayy, before rushing up to hug her. “I've never seen Lionel cry this much,” observed judge Katy Perry. “You look like you’re walking a daughter down the aisle,” fellow judge Luke Bryan told the verklempt Lionel. “You have what we cannot teach,” Lionel told Shayy. “We cannot teach letting the music flow straight from the soul, and that's what you did. It just pours out of you. … I’m so in love with you.” “For me, you're not a question mark,” Katy said, before she and her fellow judges gave Shayy three assertive yeses. The show then cut to footage of a homecoming rally for Shayy, as she strutted into her school gymnasium proudly brandishing her golden ticket. Oh, so now her classmates are supporting her? Grrr. Screw those ablist jerks! Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
