Derek Hough served as the guest mentor on American Idol on Sunday night and he did something special for one singer.
The reason Derek Hough was a mentor was that he knows all about stage presence. He has been in Broadway productions, has a Las Vegas stage show, and was on Dancing with the Stars for many seasons.
Derek knows what performers have to do if they want to capture the audience’s attention. He was able to share that with the singers on Sunday night, making a true mark on Nicolina in her performance as a Disney villain.
However, with Christian Guardino, Derek did something even more special.
Derek Hough makes a FaceTime call on American Idol
While Derek Hough was talking to Christian Guardino about his performance, he realized that the singer was still a bit insecure.
Christian is no stranger to the world of reality singing competitions.
He was on America’s Got Talent when he was a teenager and made it pretty far in that competition as well. Even Simon Cowell, who is not easy to get praise from, loved his voice and talent.
Christian was born with an eye degenerative disease and he was expected to be blind when he was a teenager. He had experimental surgery and got his eyesight back — able to see things he had never seen before.
Since then, Christian has felt blessed with life and never takes anything for granted.
Christian also doesn’t always have faith in himself, even if he has one of the best voices on the show.
Christian planned to sing Circle of Life from The Lion King, and he wasn’t sure about his delivery.
Derek said he wanted to FaceTime a friend and have them listen to give their advice. Christian said okay, but he was not prepared for who Derek called.
Michael Buble gives Christian a huge compliment
Derek Hough called platinum-award artist Michael Buble on FaceTime and had him listen to Christian sing.
By the time Christian was finished, Buble was astonished, his mouth wide open in wonder.
“That’s a beautiful reimagining of that cover,” Buble said. “I just think that is so great.”
It was also enough for the fans to vote Christian on to the Top 7 of American Idol.
“A huge thank you to @derekhough for being such a great mentor & especially for introducing me to your buddy @michaelbuble ??,” Christian wrote on Instagram after the show.
American Idol airs on Sunday and Monday nights at 8/7c on ABC.