Georgia insurance agent Philmon Lee lands top 20 spot in ‘American Idol’

Georgia gets “American Idol” love almost every year and 2026 is no exception.

The “Idol” judges in this past Monday’s episode placed 25-year-old LaGrange insurance agent Philmon Lee in the top 20, where he’ll begin competing for America’s votes over the next two weeks. And for the first time, the show will open up voting via social media. (Three other options ― phone, text and app ― will remain as well. Multiple votes are encouraged.)

With “Idol” seeking to reduce costs, Lee’s path to the top 20 required only three performances, two out of Nashville and one in Hawaii at Aulani, a Disney-owned resort. In past years, it would take four to six performances to get to this point.

Lee, whose gritty vocals evoke Chris Stapleton, Post Malone and Teddy Swims, styles himself in the pop-soul category. He was signed to Epic Records when he was 20, but the deal languished. Once he was free and clear of that contract, he tried out for “Idol,” which he sees as a second shot at stardom.

“So far, this has been a great experience,” said Lee, who was nursing a flu while speaking to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution earlier this week prior to the airing of his first pretaped Hawaii performance. “If I make it to the next round, I’m going to just keep going. I have no reason to quit. I’m going to keep doing my thing.”

During his initial audition that aired last month, Lee chose to sing Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman,” a classic 1966 No. 1 hit that he figured he couldn’t go wrong with. (An old soul, he loves Marvin Gaye and the Temptations as well as classic rock acts like AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Aerosmith.)

Lee began tentatively, hands firmly in his pockets, but as he sang, he loosened up, offering enough vocal skill to impress the judges.

“Great interpretation,” said judge Lionel Richie.

“Pleasantly surprised,” said judge Carrie Underwood.

“You’re making another Georgia boy proud,” said judge Luke Bryan, who hails from Leesburg. “We’ve had 10 people today who look like they’ve been trained to sing. You look like you’ve been born to sing.”

Lee admitted he “blacked out” during the audition. "Watching it back, I did a little better than I thought. During the moment, I didn’t feel I did a good job.”

Before his Hollywood week performance, he joked with host Ryan Seacrest that he didn’t know what to do with his hands.

During his powerful rendition of Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control,” he grasped the microphone stand tightly but had full control of his vocals this time around.

The judges and the audience gave him a standing ovation.

“Who possessed you?’ Richie asked.

Lee said he knew “Lose Control,” the breakthrough No. 1 hit for fellow Georgian Swims in 2024, was a winner. “From that opening line, you get this full experience,” he said.

Philmon Lee in Hawaii for "American Idol." (ABC)

During Monday’s episode at Aulani Disney Resort & Spa, Lee’s parents were there as he choked up dedicating Kodaline’s “All I Want” to one of his biggest supporters, his recently deceased great-grandmother Nancy.

“I sung it in hospice before she passed away,” he said.

After his emotive performance, he began to cry as his gospel-singing dad Philmon Lee Sr. yelled “I love you, boy!”

Underwood told Lee, “You took us on a journey. You brought us in when it was meant to feel intense. On the soaring notes, you took us to a whole other place. We can just kind of feel that swell. It’s a gift!”

Lee has written his own music but isn’t sure if he will bring out any original songs if he makes it further in the competition. “Song choice is everything,” he said.

Win or lose, he plans to hit the road as soon as the show ends in May.

“I just want to perform,” Lee said. “It doesn’t matter where. I’ll sing at a nursing home. I think music has the power to change lives and move people. We all speak one language with song.”