Great White singer Brett Carlisle is officially headed to Hollywood. The rock vocalist appeared on Monday night’s episode (February 9) of “American Idol,” where he successfully auditioned for judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan.
The 28-year-old, who has fronted the legendary rock band since late 2022, brought some heavy hitters with him to the audition at Nashville’s Belmont University. Accompanied by Great White guitarist Mark Kendall and keyboardist Michael Lardie, Carlisle delivered a rendition of the band’s classic ballad “House Of Broken Love.”
The performance was a hit with the panel. Lionel Richie was particularly enthusiastic about Carlisle‘s potential in the competition.
“Especially when you rock, you’re going to be the poster child for this,” Richie told him.
The audition turned into a mini-concert when judge Carrie Underwood asked the trio to play a portion of Great White’s biggest hit, “Once Bitten, Twice Shy.” With the judges won over, Carlisle secured the coveted golden ticket, advancing him to the show’s Hollywood Week where he will face stiffer competition.
Speaking to AL.com, Carlisle reflected on the unique atmosphere of being surrounded by so many other hopefuls.
“I’ve never been with that many singers at that level before in a room, and it was cool that we all got to nerd out with the time that we had in the waiting rooms and everything else. Some really, really good people, all genres.”
Kendall, a founding member of Great White, expressed his full support for his younger singer’s solo venture.
“Well, I was personally thrilled for him. But it was such a great experience [on ‘Idol‘], and it was so fun. They really did a lot with us. They filmed us all doing interviews, and Brett’s doing interviews, and it was really exciting. It was just a really fun day, long day. Like, 12 hours there from six in the morning till six at night. But it was a great experience for Brett, and we really enjoyed ourselves. We don’t want to slow him down for any opportunities or so we were happy to support that.”
Carlisle officially took over vocal duties for Great White in October 2022, replacing Andrew Freeman. “American Idol” auditions are set to continue airing on February 16 on ABC.
