Baylee Littrell auditions for American Idol (Photos by: Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images and Christopher Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images)
The season 23 premiere of American Idol aired Sunday (March 9) and featured an impressive first round of auditions, including one from the son of a Backstreet Boy.
One of the most anticipated auditions of the season came from Baylee Littrell. The 23-year-old is the son of Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell teased his Idol appearance in early February. In a post made to social media, Littrell wrote, “Well guys😁recently I had the opportunity to audition for @americanidol 🙏🏼Tune in to see the season premiere and what happens on 3/9/25!”
The announcement was met with a great deal of excitement and some skepticism. Bayle has spent most of his life on stage and building a fan base of his own. He started opening for his dad’s band when he was only 9 and appeared in the Broadway musical, Disaster!
After his Broadway appearance, Littrell turned his attention to becoming a country singer and songwriter. He was the opening act for the Backstreet Boys’ DNA World Tour in 2019 and opened for Chris Lane that same here. He also released his debut album, 770-Country in 2019.
Some viewers felt that Baylee didn’t need the platform American Idol offers to new artists. But most were thrilled to see the talented young singer, especially new judge Carrie Underwood.
When Littrell entered the audition room, Carrie told him that he looked familiar. “There’s something about you that looks familiar,” Carrie told him before he told her who his dad is.
“It’s not easy. I’ve always told everybody he’s 10 times more talented than I ever was,” Brian told the cameras before Baylee’s audition.
Baylee impressed the judges with an original song.
“You’re really good. Like, you’re really good,” Carrie told Baylee. “You went there emotionally. I think you could go very, very far in this competition.”
Brian joined his son in the room for a brief duet, causing Carrie to fangirl. “I feel like for anyone else, having your superstar dad join you would make you look bad, but it doesn’t.”
The judges voted unanimously to send Baylee through to Hollywood, and they all agreed that his future in the competition was looked bright.
Being Brian Littrell’s son is only part of Baylee’s story.
When Baylee was 6, he was diagnosed with Kawasaki Syndrome, a rare childhood disease that causes inflammation of blood vessels. If left untreated it can cause lasting to the arteries that supply the heart.
Bayle was hospitalized with a high fever, a full-body rash, and throat blisters. It took two weeks for Baylee to receive a diagnosis, but received prompt treatment and made a full recovery.
Watch Baylee Littrell’s American Idol audition in the video below.