Georgia country singer Will Moseley landed in the finals of the 22nd season of ABC’s “American Idol” on Sunday night.
Moseley, who is from the small southeast Georgia town of Hazlehurst, will compete with Dallas rock/pop singer Jack Blocker and Indio, California, crooner Abi Carter for the crown.
The 23-year-old has cruised through the competition, a steady presence channeling the likes of Chris Stapleton and Luke Combs. He was a latecomer to music, only taking it seriously the past couple of years.
He graduated from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro a year ago with a biology degree. He gave himself 12 months to see far he could get in the business.
“It’s been crazy, man, just getting to experience all this in such a short time,” Moseley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution last month.
He performed two songs from Disney movies on Sunday night: “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” from “Toy Story 4″ and “Born to be Wild” from “D3: The Mighty Ducks.”
“Idol” will fly Moseley to his hometown this week and tape segments there that will air on the three-hour finale. Guests who will perform include Jon Bon Jovi, Wynonna Judd, New Kids on the Block, CeCe Winans, Jason Mraz, Hootie & the Blowfish and Bishop Briggs.
Georgia has had only one winner over the first 21 seasons: Phillip Phillips in season 11. But the state can claim five runner ups.
In fact, this is the third time in four years that a Georgian has landed in the “American Idol” finals. The last two times, the Georgian came in second: country singer Megan Danielle from Douglasville in 2023 and Willie Spence from Douglas County in 2021.
Caleb Lee Hutcheson from Dallas, Georgia, came in second in 2018 during season 16. Lauren Alaina from Rossville lost to Scotty McCreery in season 10. And two decades ago, Snellville teen Diana DeGarmo came in behind Fantasia Barrino in season three.
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