Watch ‘American Idol' Judges Give Out the Second Platinum Ticket to the 15-Year-Old Who Lionel Richie Says ‘Sings Like Streisand’

Judges shock contestant with surprise guest that brings her to tears.

It was an emotional night on American Idol for 15-year-old Kaylin Hedges from Pound Ridge, N.Y. Judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan shocked her with a visit from her father Sgt. First Class Jeffrey Hedges, who has been deployed overseas and not expected home until next year, and then to top it off, they awarded her the Platinum Ticket for Nashville.

Before any of that happened, Kaylin told the judges that she was going to audition with a song dedicated to her father, who had sacrificed by deploying overseas so that she could live in New York where there were opportunities for her to study and participate in music.

“My dad’s in the military so he’s stationed overseas, Kaylin told the judges. “He’s in the Army. He inspires me so much. I love him. I am going to sing a song for him, 'I’m Already There' by Lonestar. It’s just a song that explains everything with us being so far away and stuff. I just relate to it a lot.”

Related: Photos! See All 14 Acts Auditioning Tonight on American Idol

When Kaylin was done, Lionel said, “Fifteen. I don’t believe it.”

Katy added, “That big of a voice in that small body.”

And Luke complimented her, saying, “You did a great job. To be 15 and navigating like you are. You were navigating your falsetto. I got a little scared because you were using your falsetto a lot and I was, ‘Oh my, God, she’s using her falsetto, she’s not going to be able to go big. She just went big. She’s got a big voice.'”

Related: Watch American Idol Judges Give Out the First Platinum Ticket to 'The Most Gifted Singer Yet'

Before they took a vote, Katy told Kaylin she had a message from her father and called her closer to see the tablet it was on.

Her dad said, “I have nothing but pride and admiration for you. I know I’ve missed many holidays and birthdays, but I just want you to know that no matter where I am, I’m already there. So, take a look around.”

Which, of course, is also the lyrics to the Lonestar song that Kaylin just sang: “I'm already there. Take a look around.”

Then the judges told Kaylin to take a look around and there was her dad. She ran into his arms.

Once she was over the shock, she said, “That’s what mom was whispering about.”

But the judges set her straight that her mother didn’t know, so Kaylin ran out to get her mother, Hailey, who was also shocked by the sight of her husband and ran to him.

But the excitement wasn’t over yet.

Katy said, “We decided to take this up another notch. Everybody’s been walking out with a Gold Ticket, but there’s one Platinum Ticket. Only one person in each city gets the Platinum Ticket and we decided you’re getting the Platinum Ticket. That Platinum Ticket means you are going to Hollywood, and you get to sit it out the first round.”

Kaylin, of course, was overwhelmed, but more so when Lionel said, “You’re 15 years old and singing like Streisand.”

Related: American Idol Season 5 Winner Noah Thompson Proves He’s Here to ‘Stay’ With Amazing Rihanna Cover

Earlier in her video package, Kaylin said, “I have loved music ever since I was tiny. I used to sing at all the county fairs. From that I realized, ‘Oh, I really like this.’ My parents took notice of that, and they started to notice how many opportunities there were in places like New York, and they were, ‘How do we get there?’ My dad came home one day and was like, ‘I got a way that we can get there.’ But it was scary. He had to deploy to dangerous places for me to be able to pursue music in New York, where I got to do all these school musicals and plays and stuff, but he did it and we got there.”

Then she shared how, because of his deployment, she doesn’t get to see her dad in person and that he’s had to miss a lot of things.

“He has missed my birthday nine years in a row,” she said. “It can be hard (she gets emotional), but it’s OK. He’s coming back next year. It’ll be good."

American Idol airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Next, American Idol Announces its Judges, Host and Platinum Tickets, Plus a First Look at an Artist Who Will Bring Tears to Your Eyes