SC’s Caleb Kennedy sails to ‘American Idol’ top 5 on strength of his own song

With just two more episodes until the 2021 “American Idol” champion is announced, South Carolina’s Caleb Kennedy earned a spot in the top five Sunday night.

The show’s seven semifinalists each sang two songs, a Coldplay song and a dedication to loved ones for Mother’s Day.

Coldplay singer/songwriter Chris Martin served as the celebrity mentor and the group debuted its new single, “Higher Power,” on the two-hour live show.

Country singer Kennedy sang Coldplay’s “Violet Hill,” which was one of the group’s first songs, and Kennedy’s original song, “Mama Said.”

During the mentoring session with Martin, Kennedy played a song he wrote, which Martin called “pretty good” and asked when Kennedy wrote it. Kennedy said he’d written it just the other day.

Kennedy said he believed he was more of a songwriter than a singer. Martin said he was both.

Martin advised songwriting is a gift.

“Don’t take credit for it,” Martin said.

After Kennedy sang the Coldplay song, judge Luke Bryan said Kennedy came out strong in the first 20-30 seconds of the song and seemed “ready to overthrow the galaxy of music.”

“Bring that every time. Don’t ever tell yourself you’re not a singer. You’re a singer and a songwriter. Don’t let those demons in,” Bryan said.

Judge Lionel Richie said Kennedy’s confidence seemed to drop in the middle of the song.

“Bring you every time,” Richie said.

Judges raved about Kennedy’s writing and performance of “Mama Said.”

Richie said Kennedy needed to put that song out immediately.

“It will be a smash,” Richie said.

Bryan called Kennedy an anomaly, praising his ability at his age to be able to write songs that sound like someone much older and wiser.

“It’s amazing,” Bryan said.

In addition to Sunday’s performance, Kennedy has played another of his original songs, “Nowhere,” this season. In March, that song hit No. 4 on the iTunes chart. Richie told him after he performed the song, “You’re going to fool around here and become a great songwriter.”

The other contestants in top 5 are Willie Spence of Douglas, Georgia; Casey Bishop of Estera, Florida; Chayce Beckham of Apple Valley, California; and Grace Kinstler of Lakewood, Florida.

Kennedy has become known for his gritty voice, calm demeanor and a preference for hats — cowboy and ball caps — sitting low over his eyes, with a curly mullet poking out underneath.

The 16-year-old Roebuck singer has been performing for three years, bought his first guitar with birthday money and taught himself to play chords from his phone.

He is a sophomore at Dorman High School in Spartanburg County, where he also attends the school’s applied tech center. He had wanted to be a carpenter like his grandfather, but then dreams of performing and songwriting got a huge boost with his “American Idol” success.

This is the 19th season for the show, which has crowned one winner from South Carolina, Beaufort native Candice Glover, in the 12th season. She has since released one album and appeared on Broadway.

This story was originally published May 9, 2021 at 10:02 PM with the headline "SC’s Caleb Kennedy sails to ‘American Idol’ top 5 on strength of his own song."