American Idol contestant and blind singer Shayy put on a fantastic performance singing Andra Day’s ‘Rise Up’ which left judge Lionel Richie in tears.
Shayy, a promising high school student, had started to complain just a year ago of vision problems, and was fearing that she would need to get glasses. But it turned out to be a serious affair when Shayy would have to be rushed to the hospital for an emergency MRI which is when they found out about a tumor in her brain.
Sadly, after surgery, she was declared legally blind, but that did not deter Shayy from pursuing her passion for singing, and took her talents to the American Idol stage where her amazing story and journey had the three judges in tears with her powerful performance of ‘Rise Up’ from Andra Day.
Judge Lionel Richie looked visibly moved when Shayy sang the chorus of the song, and when she completed the song she got a standing ovation from all three judges and earned her ticket to Hollywood. Judge Luke Bryan summed up the moment perfectly by saying, “You have what we cannot teach. We cannot teach letting the music flow straight from the soul, and that’s what you did.”
