Blind Singer's 'Rise Up' Audition Brings Lionel Ritchie To Tears

Blind singer Shayy leaves one judge in tears after her powerful performance of Andra Day’s ‘Rise Up’ on American Idol. It has only been one year since this high school student started to complain of vision problems. As images started to get blurry, Shayy feared that she would need to get glasses. But after a routine trip to the eye doctor, the family realized this was a much more serious issue. Shayy was rushed to the hospital for an MRI and that’s when they discovered a tumor in her brain.

After surgery, this young woman was declared legally blind. Despite her physical setbacks, Shayy never lost her passion for performing. Now, she’s taking her talents to the American Idol stage and it’s an emotional performance that everyone is talking about. After sharing her story, 17-year-old Shayy delivers a beautiful rendition of ‘Rise Up’ from Andra Day.

“And I'll rise up
I'll rise like the day
I'll rise up
I'll rise unafraid
I'll rise up
And I'll do it a thousand times again”

When Shayy reached the chorus of this inspirational song, judge Lionel Ritchie couldn’t hold back the tears. All three judges gave this courageous young woman a standing ovation and she easily earned her ticket to Hollywood. But it was the emotional impact of her performance that will truly be remembered.

Fellow judge Luke Bryan summed up the moment perfectly by saying, “You have what we cannot teach. We cannot teach letting the music flow straight from the soul, and that's what you did." What an incredible journey already and it’s only the beginner for this rising performer.