Algonquin Native Kaeyra Get 'American Idol' Golden Ticket, Advances

ALGONQUIN, IL — Ever since she was a young girl spending days in her mother’s music school, Kaeyra knew she belonged on a bigger stage.

Now, the 21-year-old Algonquin native who lives in Los Angeles and works as a restaurant singer is headed there after earning a Golden Ticket on ABC’s “American Idol” over the weekend and advancing on to the new round of the nationally televised music competition.

The daughter of Polish immigrants, Kaeyra earned “yes” votes from American Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan after her rendition of Chris Stapleton’s “Cold.” Judges praised Kaeyra for her vocal range and emotional performance, which drew a standing ovation from Bryan.

Kaeyra said in an interview posted on the “American Idol” Instagram page that she was nervous entering the audition, which was televised on ABC on Sunday night. But Kaeyra said that as soon as she got in front of the panel of judges, she immediately felt at ease and that she could be herself.

“The nerves went away,” she said in the interview. “I try to be very present in the moment, and it was just amazing.”

A spokesperson for "American Idol" told Patch on Monday that when Kaeyra’s next appearance on the show will take place should be finalized later this week.

But after Kaeyra finished her performance, which she did while sitting at a white piano in the audition, judges were blown away by her talent.

Said Bryan: “I wasn’t expecting that ….you don’t sound like anybody else ….you can just tell that music has been in your world.”

Kaeyra told judges that she sings four hours a night four nights a week at a restaurant, performing covers of other artists’ work.

Perry told Kaeyra ahead of the judge’s decision that if the Algonquin native did advance in the competition, she wanted to hear a faster-paced song, adding “all the world is not a steakhouse.”

Richie agreed, saying that if judges could get some of Kaeyra’s “moody voice” on songs and apply it to songs of various tempos, that “you have all the range to make an artist out of this.”

Perry agreed: “I think it’s in your blood.”

For Kaeyra, who said in a video produced for her audition, the idea of getting a shot at advancing in the “American Idol” competition was a credit to her mother, Joanna, who was a piano teacher in Poland before she and her husband came to the United States more than two decades ago. At the music school in Schaumburg, Kaeyra said that she was surrounded by music every day, which helped prepare her as a performer and led her to taking her shot at various competitions, including “American Idol.”

“It feels crazy — it feels like a dream,” Kaeyra said of winning the Golden Ticket. “I’m just so excited to go to Hollywood.”