Taylor Fagins's Black Lives Matter ballad 'We Need More' declared one of the greatest 'American Idol' auditions of all time
Incredibly, this year marks the 20th anniversary of when Kelly Clarkson won the very first season of American Idol. The show has launched many other superstars and undergone many changes since, but the judges who signed on four years ago for the ABC reboot — Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan — returned Sunday for Season 20 (or “Season 5,” as ABC annoying insists on calling it), along with O.G. host Ryan Seacrest.
The judges apparently still aren’t giving up on the dream of finding the next Kelly. Luke declared 2022 “the year of the girl singers”; at one point Katy cried out, “Hail Mary full of grace, please have a Kelly Clarkson show up!”; and Sunday’s premiere even cold-opened with a chorus of starry-eyed Season 20 hopefuls singing Clarkson’s Season 1 coronation ballad, “A Moment Like This.” But the real moment that some viewers waited a lifetime for came at the premiere’s end, courtesy of Taylor Fagins — whose original song “We Need More” was rightfully declared “one of most powerful moments in Idol history” by Seacrest himself.
Taylor, a renaissance man and UC Irvine drama graduate who also writes movies and plays, performed the only original song of Sunday’s episode, a Black Lives Matter anthem called “We Need More” that he penned just three days after George Floyd’s murder in 2020. “I wrote ‘We Need More’ sitting on my bed, telling myself that I have to say something,” Taylor told the judges.
The piano ballad was so chilling that there was pin-drop silence in the audition room when Taylor was finished. Finally, Lionel spoke up. “How do you feel?” a stunned Lionel asked Taylor. “I’m shaking,” Taylor replied. “Me too,” Lionel responded softly.
Lionel called Taylor’s song “very powerful” and “very heavy,” explaining bluntly, “I wasn’t birthed unto what was happening until the ‘60s, and those [political] songs were there too. What I am emotional about is that we need your song in 2022. How disgusting.”
Luke called this performance “a really magical kind of moment,” before the judges gave Taylor a “resounding, absolute yes” — and it was all the more impactful that this audition aired not only in the finally weekend of Black History Month, but in the week that Ahmaud Arbery’s killers were sentenced to life in prison and three former Minneapolis police officers were found guilty of violating George Floyd's civil rights.
Read the full lyrics to “We Need More” below:
Ahmaud Arbery
You went for a run ‘cause you probably felt free
Ahmaud Arbery
Your run had an end that nobody could see
Little black boys don’t run outside or play with water guns at night
They run away from red and white, blue lights
Little black boys don’t go to stores or use their pockets anymore
Can someone tell them what they're living for?
They want more...
Oh, Breonna Taylor
I bet your sleep felt so peaceful and pure
Oh, Breonna Taylor
Your peace was ended by police burglars
Little black girls don’t close their eyes or walk the streets alone at night
They turn their cameras on when they see white
Little black girls don’t open doors or stand near windows anymore
Can someone tell them what they're living for?
They need more...
We need more...
Little black boys and girls are scared, their parents feel so unprepared
The world sees black no matter what you wear
So, little black boys and girls, don’t cry
We’ll fight to find an alibi, so you can go outside and never die.
We will try...
We will try to run outside, try to close our eyes
Try to walk the streets and never die
We will try to open doors, try to go to stores
We’ll try to find the light we’re living for
We need more.
While Taylor established himself as Season 20’s one to beat after this tour de force, he surprisingly did not receive the first platinum ticket of the competition. The platinum ticket, a new “game-changing” twist to celebrate American Idol’s 20th anniversary, means a contestant is the “best of the best”; only three will be handed out this season (the decision to do so must be unanimous among the judges), and platinum ticket-holders will get to bypass the first round of Hollywood Week. This week’s platinum ticket went to a deserving country contender named Huntergirl, but as for Taylor Fagins, he won’t need any gimmicks or twists to make it far on this show. “We Want More” truly was one on the greatest Idol of in all 20 seasons.
Here are the other singers who received golden (or platinum) tickets to Hollywood on Sunday’s premiere:
Noah Thompson, 19: “Giving You Up”
The episode’s first hopeful was a sheet-rock construction worker (shades of last year’s winner, Chayce Beckham) from small-town Kentucky with a classic underdog Idol story. It was his co-worker Arthur who saw Noah’s raw talent — despite Noah’s lack of confidence, vocal training, or professional experience — and secretly signed Noah up for an audition. (“He’s not born to be working with us,” Arthur told the judges, giving a passionate speech that made it seem like he was auditioning to be Noah’s manager.) Noah lacked charisma on his Kameron Marlowe song — Luke instructed him to be “a little more deliberate with the lyrics” — but Lionel told him, “You’ve got a real-life, storytelling, badass voice. It’s believable.” Katy said, “You are the American dream.” And even Luke finally admitted, “You’re why this job is cool.” I’m sure America will love this guy, but he has a steep learning curve ahead of him in Hollywood. Lucky for Noah, he has Arthur in his corner. “Angels come in strange packages,” Lionel mused.
Normandy, 29: “Proud Mary”/“Set Fire to the Rain”
I expected this squeaky-voiced gamer/TikToker type, who Luke said seemed “to have just walked off the set of a children’s program,” to be a joke audition. And apparently so did Katy, who was so flabbergasted when the adorkable Normandy began to sing about 10 octaves lower than her helium-huffing cartoon voice that she ran off the set, believing she’d been punk’d. “In the past people, have definitely written me off because of the way I talk,” Normandy admitted. I still think Normandy was punking the judges and her Chipmunk speaking voice was all an act — but it was a fun act, and it made for good TV. I don’t necessarily think Normandy is a spectacular singer — she seems to sing with a clenched jaw, and needs to work on her projection and diction — but I was happy when the judges “rolled the dice” on her. “I love the character of you. … Let’s see what you can do,” shrugged Lionel. “You’re kind of amazing. … We have to figure out your place in this world of entertainment,” said Luke. I still think Normandy’s true place is on her own kiddie television show.
Nicolina Bozzo, 18: “She Used to be Mine”
With her big, fiery voice, amazing sense of dynamics, and uninhibited, lost-in-the-moment delivery, this powerhouse seemed like total platinum-ticket material. She was nearly in tears while she sang the Sara Bareilles Broadway ballad, and so was Katy. “I felt your whole life story in that song,” Katy gushed. “You are what we’ve been looking for,” said Lionel. “You go into a place in your mind right before you sing, and that’s what big-time singers do,” Luke observed. Maybe Nicolina could be the new Kelly.
Tyler Allen, 24: “I Believe in You and Me”
Tyler dedicated his tear-jerking performance to his late nephew, who recently died in a car accident at age 1. Katy, the mother of a 1-year-old herself, was understandably “an absolute wreck,” as Luke put it. I’m not sure this big Whitney Houston ballad was the best choice for Tyler’s airy, feathery voice and conversational delivery, but he explained that he used to sing his nephew to sleep with “I Believe in You and Me.” And the judges loved his spin on the song, giving him a standing ovation. “It’s just beautiful. There’s no gimmicks,” Katy said through tears. “You have your perfectly unique sound, and you sing with purpose… and to create a moment. That’s another thing stars do,” noted Luke.
Camryn Champion, 16: “I’m Not the Only One”
Camryn’s audition was not shown in full, and Katy thought she needed to be less reserved. Luke even ordered Camryn to “quit being scared to sing!” But the judges, especially Katy, coached her very aggressively, so clearly they saw some potential. Let’s see if she can tap into that potential in Hollywood.
Danielle Finn, 17: “Mirror”
Another diamond-in-the-rough teen, Danielle’s first notes were “in the mud,” according to Lionel, but she also benefitted from the judges’ real-time coaching: When they advised her to take the song up a key, she immediately improved. Still, Luke said her performance “just wasn’t exciting,” and I agreed; we see auditions like this every season. But Katy really believed in Danielle and doubled down, eventually getting Luke to change his no to a tentative yes. “You might potentially need to send Katy some flowers,” Lionel advised Danielle. (Interesting side note: Katy wasn’t quite as convincing when she tried to get Luke and Lionel to vote yes for not-ready-for-prime-time 15-year-old Grace Franklin, even though Grace is Aretha Franklin’s granddaughter.)
Huntergirl, 23: “Riot”
A musical therapist for veterans with PTSD, this country gal was instantly likable. And when she vivaciously belted this Rascal Flatts tune, she was a real natural, earning the second standing ovation of the episode. Her performance was even stronger after she heeded Luke’s advice to move the song up a half-step. “Your voice cuts through. … You check many different boxes. All you need is a shot,” said Katy. Luke predicted Huntergirl would make the top 10 and called her a “new-age Miranda Lambert” and “my favorite female country voice I have heard in five years,” so after all that, I was shocked that Huntergirl didn’t get a platinum ticket… until she received it later, onstage, when Luke invited her to perform at his Nashville bar. Top 10, here we come.
Cole Hallman, 22: “Lodi”/“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
This year’s Hunter Metts or Wyatt Pike showed up with his younger sister Katie — his “biggest fan and biggest critic” — a girl with a chromosome disorder with whom he often sings at home. She’s also an Idol obsessive, so she seemed more excited to be at the audition than did Cole, a late bloomer who’s only been singing for five years. But he had a natural ease on his two classic rock songs, especially his endearing Stones duet with his sister, which was when his nervousness finally subsided. “I think you’re an authentic voice; I think you’re singing form the right place,” said Luke. “It’s called character. … Your heart is just in your voice. It’s so raw and passionate,” said Katy.
Delaney Renee, 18: “Opportunity”
Here’s another classic feel-good Idol story: Just like Noah Thompson, Delaney only wound up on this show thank to a well-meaning angel. A “momfluencer” filmed her singing while babysitting, posted the video to TikTok with Delaney’s permission, and the clip went viral, amassing 18 million views. Idol was “right on top of it” and quickly recruited Delaney to audition… and the rest could be Idol history. Delaney’s Sia cover was extraordinary and beautiful, if a little Disney-princess in vibe. Luke observed that there was “still a lot of youthfulness” in her voice and she needed to” roughen up the edges,” but Lionel told her, “You’ve got all the goods to do it.” Said Katy, “You’re so full of light and goodness. Yes, we want a little bit of grit, but you’ll get there.”
American Idol Season 20’s auditions continue next Sunday — with hopefully many more moments like this.
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