Dolly Parton shared her sweet reaction to an American Idol hopeful’s emotional audition. Parton was recently working with Christian artist Zach Williams when the pair watched McKenna Breinholt’s audition for the smash-hit competition series with her cover of “There Was Jesus,” a ballad Parton and Williams debuted in 2019.
Breinholt, a 25-year-old singer from Gilbert, Arizona, shared with the celebrity judge panel — Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie — that she was adopted into her close-knit family. When she was 21, she asked her parents about information about her birth mother. Breinholt discovered that her birth mother was a musician who has since passed away. Breinholt told the American Idol judges that “just this past summer, I came into contact with my entire birth family, and found out that they all sing. All of them.”
At that time, Breinholt had never met her birth family in person. They had only talked with one another on FaceTime. Bryan said in his caption as he posted a video of the heartfelt audition video last week that “we’re bringing families together and feeling all the emotions.” The sneak peek of the soon-to-premiere American Idol season captured Breinholt’s stunning rendition of “There Was Jesus,” and the surprise reunion between Breinholt and her birth family (along with her adopted family).
“The other day I was working with [Dolly Parton] and we watched [McKenna Breinholt]’s audition performance of our song ‘There Was Jesus’ on American Idol,” Williams wrote in his caption as he posted the reaction video on Thursday (February 8). “Dolly saw it for the first time so we filmed this reaction. It’s awesome seeing this song continue to bless people from so many different angles.”
Parton applauded as Breinholt finished her audition. Williams and Parton said it was “awesome” to listen to Breinholt cover their duet during her American Idol audition. Parton added that it was a blessing for them to hear, and a blessing for Breinholt to meet her birth family. Breinholt wrote in the comments, “I AM FREAKING OUTTTTT wow wow wow.”
The American Idol season premiere is set for Sunday, February 18 on ABC and Hulu.