When American Idol contestant Megan Danielle traveled to Las Vegas to audition for the show, she wasn't expecting to meet one of her all-time musical heroes, but that's exactly what happened.
The 20-year-old from Georgia explained in a pre-audition segment that she began singing in bars when she was 18 years old, but after encouragement from her grandfather Chuck, she decided to make the switch to the Christian genre. Danielle also shared that her grandfather, who influenced her music path, passed away a year ago. The singer opted to perform Lauren Daigle's "You Say" as her audition song in front of the judges, but while she was in the audition, Ryan Seacrest coordinated the surprise of a lifetime.
Seacrest explained to Danielle's mother that Daigle, herself, had a show in Las Vegas the night before and she was currently in the building. Daigle then joined Seacrest at the audition door, and while Danielle was singing, the Grammy-winning singer walked in to join her — much to Danielle's surprise.
Not only was Danielle ecstatic, but judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry were equally surprised by Daigle's appearance. Daigle shared with the young hopeful that she relates to her story about her late grandfather, as Daigle was also influenced by her own grandpa. Perry then asked the two singers to perform the chorus yet again, and Danielle's voice soared while Daigle sang along and provided backup vocals.
When it came time for the judges to give their thoughts, they were all optimistic about Danielle's potential in the competition.
"What you have is a real honest rawness," Bryan told the contestant. "It's like unpolished diamond stuff going on, and I think when you start learning, we start giving you confidence and you start realizing you can really do this, it's going to be fun to watch you grow."
Richie also saw plenty of possibilities in Danielle's voice.
"What you have is this thing in your voice that I am in love with, and if I can get you out of your shyness and have it come through your vocal cords — all we're going to do right now at this point is push, push, push," he says.
Perry also complimented the "grit" in Danielle's "authentic" voice.
Another goosebump-inducing moment came when Daigle realized that Danielle's grandfather was named Chuck, as that was her grandfather's name as well.
"Well you know God has a sense of humor every once in a while," Perry says.
In the end, Danielle got three "yes" votes from the judges, and she is on her way to Hollywood week to compete against other Idol hopefuls.
American Idol airs Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
