Need a distraction from all the coronavirus anxiety? “American Idol” is still making some beautiful music on occasion.
In fact, during Sunday’s installment of auditions on ABC’s singing competition, Danville native Grace Leer wowed judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan with her country stylings.
Leer, who attended San Ramon Valley High School and graduated from UC Berkeley in 2015, performed a stirring version of “Crowded Table” by The Highwomen. With confidence and a natural ease, she hit all the right notes.
But Perry wanted to hear more — some “sad country.”
That’s when Leer, 27, soared with a beautiful cover of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy.”
“I like the way you interpret. Your voice is cutting through,” Richie said. “And you do well on-the-spot.”
“I love the texture of your voice,” Perry added, while Bryan described her voice as “classic.”
“It’s not forced. It’s easy to listen to,” he said.
All the compliments had Leer tearing up.
“It means a lot to hear that from people like you,” she said, pointing out that it’s tough to stand out in the competitive Nashville scene. In 2017, Leer moved to the capital of country music where she fronts a band.
This isn’t the first televised singing competition for Leer. At the age of 11, she appeared on “American Juniors,” a spin-off of “Idol” that featured child vocalists. When she turned 14, Leer temporarily gave up performing to be a “normal kid” and she apparently became a pretty good athlete, earning a soccer scholarship to Cal.
But she never abandoned her love of singing. Leer has performed the National Anthem for Bay Area sports teams, including the San Francisco Giants, Golden State Warriors and San Jose Sharks.
Leer is the second Bay Area performer to make it to Hollywood on “American Idol” this year. In the show’s Season 18 opener, Francisco Martin, a student at College of San Mateo, earned a golden ticket.
It is not clear yet how “American Idol” will proceed during the coronavirus crisis. The series is currently airing audition episodes that were filmed months ago. But live episodes are scheduled to begin in April.
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