By Michaela Gordoni
AMERICAN IDOL will feature “Songs of Faith” for its Easter Sunday episode.
The special three-hour episode will feature performances from Christian artists CeCe Winans, IDOL alumni Roman Collins, Jelly Roll, Brandon Lake and The Brown Four, along with the top 20 contestants on Sunday, April 20, per TV Insider.
Judges Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Carrie Underwood will also perform faith-inspired songs.
This is AMERICAN IDOL’s first Easter special, and hopefully, there will be more faith-based specials to come. The episode will air from 8 to 11 p.m. on ABC on Sunday.
Underwood and Bryan are both believers and have their own songs about faith. Though Richie grew up in a Christian household, he holds an omnist view of religion, as told by The Guardian.
Tonight, Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, will step in as the new artist in residence for the IDOL “Head-to-Head” round at 8 p.m. on ABC, per Parade.
In a YouTube video announcing Jelly Roll’s debut, the singer and IDOL host Ryan Seacrest told DeFord he’s “shaping America’s future.”
“And I feel like I’m giving them the energy they need. I’m uplifting and trying to get ’em goin’!” the “Save Me” singer said excitedly.
DeFord and Brandon Lake have already performed together to sing their song, “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which they earlier this year.
The duo debuted their first live performance of the song at the Grand Ole Opry in February.
In a recent conversation between the singers, Deford told Lake, “I think God put you in my life for a reason. I think God’s been circling my wagon for a while, and I think He’s kind of starting to pick at me a little more every day.”
He loved “Hard Fought Hallelujah” and didn’t realize that it was a faith-based song at first. He was happy to collaborate when Lake invited him.
“I haven’t had a record touch me like that in so long,” DeFord said. “… To me, it was like, worship music for sinners. And I was saying that to people, not knowing it was [actual] worship music. … Man, it’s been years since I worshiped the way that I worshiped to that song.”
DeFord has had a rocky road to faith as a former convict and drug addict. He believes that the song helped deepen his faith.
“I just hope this record connects people in any way that it connected me again. It connected me in a way to my faith, in a way that I haven’t been connected in a while,” he said.
Lake’s and DeFord’s IDOL performance on April 20 may very well be “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” The combination of their powerful vocals will be a treat for IDOL viewers.
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