Chayce Beckham, the heavy machinery operator from Apple Valley, sailed into the Top 5 of “American Idol” on Sunday when contestants celebrated both the music of Coldplay and their love for their mothers.
Beckham, 24, seemed perfectly at ease with celebrity mentor and Coldplay singer Chris Martin during their coaching sessions before the live performances on Sunday. Martin even went as far as to suggest Beckham pull down a strand of his slicked-back hair to go for a kind of Johnny Depp vibe.
Then Beckham walked on stage with an acoustic guitar and wowed judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie with a confident performance of Coldplay’s “Magic.”
“Every time you perform, man, it just feels like there’s just so much artistic signature things that you have,” Bryan told him. “But man, what I’m really pumped up about was when with you were with Chris, just having fun.”
Richie added to that thought: “I want you to understand something,” he said. “Half of the game is having confidence. the other half of the game is having fun. The fact that you’re sitting here with that guy? Enjoy the ride.”
Perry told Beckham she loved how Beckham appeared at ease with Martin. And also how Beckham should take Martin’s key piece of advice.
“The only thing I missed was that strand,” Perry said. “I stan for that strand.”
The second half of the episode let the Top 7 singers each sing a song for their mothers. Beckham, who has spoke openly about his past troubles, and the important role his family has played in getting him back on track, sang an original song titled “Mama.”
Its lyrics sometimes directly referenced his life experiences — “That night you had to pick me up from jail and I swore I’d never do it again” — with a chorus that thanked her for all the hard work and love she’d provided.
“You have me crying on your song,” Richie told him at the finish. “As a songwriter, I’m going to tell you: Put that song out now. That’s a smash record.”
When the results were announced at the end of Sunday’s episode, Beckham advanced to the Top 5, while singers Arthur Gunn and Hunter Metts were eliminated.
