LI Teen Goes To Hollywood, Wows American Idol Judges

MASSAPEQUA, NY. — Jesse Findling has always been musical. He grew up singing with his older sister and younger brother, or in the shower, or in the school chorus.

“We’re not an all-musical family, my mom and my dad don’t sing,” Findling said. “But me, my sister and my brother are super musical.”

Findling took that musical side to television Monday night, auditioning on ABC’s “American Idol” in front of a panel of judges that featured Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. It’s a show Findling told Patch he’d been watching on-and-off since he was young, admiring competitors like Willie Spence, Fritz Hager and Leah Marlene.

As far as his musical influences, Jesse said he wants to make music like Sean Mendes, Bruno Mars, and Ed Sheeran. There are videos, Findling said, of him as a kid, singing along to Mendes. His connection to Sheeran, however, is a little more than musical.

“Ed Sheeran, his story was always inspiring, he had a stutter when he was young,” Findling said. “He’s been super open about that, so to have an inspiration who dealt with the same thing that I did when I was young, being able to look up to somebody like that, was awesome. And I hope I can be that for young people who have stutters and speech impediments at home, watching me.”

When it came time for him to audition, Findling chose to sing Benson Boone’s “In The Stars.” It’s a choice Findling attributed to Boone’s early career music, and the emotion the 2021 Idol contestant put into it.

“I was thinking of all the people I love in life. All my friends, all my family, and everything I’ve been through to get to that moment,” Findling said. “Just a super inspiring song, I remember I got goosebumps when I heard it the first time. So, I wanted to hopefully have people feel the way I felt when I heard Benson sing that song.”

As far as the reception he received, Findling said he was happy with how the judges in the room responded.

“It went super well. Getting that feedback was insane. When Carrie Underwood said that I could go far…walking into the room, I knew that I had a voice and could sing, but I didn’t know how good I was,” Findling said. “So, to go into a room with three people that have been in the industry for so long, and to get such great feedback, and get a standing ovation, after putting my all into that song — I was super vulnerable in that moment — I walked away from that room feeling so much more confident in my ability. I think Luke said he didn’t blink. Getting feedback that wasn’t just about my voice, but about the emotion that I put into the song, and how I sing it, was great. That was my goal, not just to sing well, but to put emotion into it.”

When asked what he hoped the folks back home take from his time on Idol, the Massapequa high school graduate thought back to growing up. His hope, the teenager said, is that people who weren't always kind about it might choose to be a bit nicer going forward.

“I’ve had people be mean to me about my stutter in the past, so I would say to people from my high school, I’m lucky that I’ve made so many friends along the way. But I hope that everybody sees my audition and, after they see it, chooses to be a little kinder,” Findling said. “I feel like, now, in the world, being nice to people is important.”

And, for any kids watching who have stutters of their own, Findling said he hoped they saw his performance and felt motivated to go do something they didn’t think was possible.

“I want people to know that being fearful of it is super normal, but I want them to know that there’s so many more people who struggle with it than they think,” Findling said. “Having a community is super important, and that stuttering is something that makes them them, and makes them special. They may not see it that way, but it’s something that makes you different in a good way.”

That said, he also doesn’t want to paint an overly rosy portrait of life with a stutter.

“I want to let them know their feelings are valid, and it’s perfectly normal to want to hide your stutter. Fear is an emotion I still struggle with,” Findling said. “I don’t want it to be, like, ‘Now that I’m on American Idol and I was so open about my stutter, that it’s not something I still have a hard time with.’ I think, saying that, and saying it’s still something I struggle with — I still go to restaurants, order food and try to hide my stutter — and all these situations are still something that I struggle with.”

Reflecting on the audition process, Findling said his emotional audition experience was exactly the reason he chose to audition for "Idol." The emotion that goes into performances on the show, he said, was important.

"If I was going to be on a competition show of any sort, it would be American Idol, because it seems super raw, and it seems like people can share their stories and be an inspiration, which was important to me.”

As for what's next? Ideally, developing as an artist. In more recent years, Findling has found some success posting his singing on TikTok, and said his goal is to continue to grow.

"Which is why American Idol is so great, because it’s kind of launching me into that," Findling said.