NJ Native, Former Stone Pony Barback, Makes ‘American Idol’ Debut

MANASQUAN, NJ - This former Stone Pony barback is trading the Jersey Shore for Hollywood.

Following a unanimous “yes” from celebrity judges Lionel Richie, Katie Perry and Luke Bryan, Cole Hallman, 22, will be competing for the title of ‘American Idol’ in the show’s 20th season.

Hallman, a Manasquan native, is a recent college graduate and former fourth grade student teacher who currently works as a surf shop associate, according to a show segment. He's no novice to demonstrating his singing chops, touting over 356,000 followers and 8.1 million likes on TikTok. He’s also a former barback at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, where New Jersey music legends such as Bruce Springsteen cut their teeth.

In his audition video, which has amassed over 680,000 views to date, Hallman performs “Lodi” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Later, he brought his mother Nicole and sister Katie, who has a chromosomal deletion, to sing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by the Rolling Stones.

“My sister is obsessed with the show,” Hallman said in a segment. “She is very excited to be here. If I don’t win, she’s going to be mad … she’s definitely my No. 1 fan, but she’s also my No. 1 critic.”

The Manasquan High School graduate seemed to find fans in Perry, Richie and Bryan as well.

"Cole, you know, [when] you were singing with your sister ... you sang with total freedom," Perry said during the judgement portion of the audition. "It was so, so good."

"20 percent better," Bryan added.

"Shed the nerves and sing like you're always going to be singing with your sister," Perry said moments before the unanimous 'yeses' were given. "That's where the joy is, where the happiness is."

The full episode aired on Sunday night, with subsequent episodes to air Sundays at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Another NJ native, Camryn Champion of Lumberton, has also scored a ticket to appear in the competition’s 20th season.

You can watch Hallman’s interview and moving audition below: