Katy Perry bonded over being pastor’s kids and Lionel Richie compared him to Billy Joel.
Mathew RodriguezJeremiah Lloyd Harmon is putting down his broom and going to Hollywood.
Harmon, who works in his father’s church as a janitor, auditioned for a spot on American Idol on Sunday night and sang a song he wrote called “Almost Heaven” about whether he’d be allowed into heaven because he’s gay. From the moment he walked in the room, Katy Perry bonded with him over both being “PKs,” or “pastor’s kids.”
“I feel you, I know you,” Perry said. In a voice-over segment set to Sufjan Steven’s “Mystery of Love,” — subtlety is not American Idol’s strong suit! — Harmon spoke about knowing he was gay since he was 9 years old and coming to accept his sexuality.
Harmon’s performance left the judges in awe. “Do you know how good you are?” Perry asked.
“When you opened your mouth and started singing, I went straight to Billy Joel,” Lionel Richie says. “Then you kept singing and you passed Billy Joel. Your range is incredible. Your voice is incredible.”
The three judges, in unison, told Harmon that he had made it to the next round and would be going to Hollywood. According to Towleroad, Harmon’s boyfriend, John, was waiting outside for him after he got the good news.
Harmon was recently featured in a segment on WMAR, a local ABC affiliate in Maryland.
In the segment, Harmon talks about meeting his boyfriend at a YMCA and taking the trip up to New York to audition for Idol. He also revealed that the song is named after a pub in West Virginia called Almost Heaven Pub.
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