Lionel Richie said he could see contestant Victor Solomon reaching the top 20 of the ‘Idol’ competition

Victor Solomon, who was a finalist on “The Voice” four years ago, auditioned for “American Idol” with the Lionel Richie classic “Hello.” 

Victor Solomon made a bold decision when he auditioned for “The Voice” four years ago: He chose to try out with a song that was written and performed by one of the show’s coaches.

It was a strategy that easily could’ve backfired, but by the time Solomon finished singing “Glory,” he had the attention of three out of the four coaches.

The audition marked the first time John Legend, one of the more selective coaches on the show, turned around for a contestant performing one of his original songs, as the Deseret News reported at the time.

“I’ve literally zero times turned for someone singing my song,” Legend told the then-22-year-old singer from Peoria, Illinois. “It’s just I scrutinize it more heavily than I normally would. But, I was like, ‘I don’t need to do that.’ I was like, ‘He’s doing some things I haven’t done that are better than what I would do with this song.’”

That high praise led Solomon to join Legend’s team, where he stayed throughout the entire competition as he sang his way to the Season 20 finale.

Solomon ultimately placed fifth on the show.

Now, four years later, Solomon has just used that same strategy on “American Idol” — and based on the judges’ reaction to his audition, which aired on March 16, it’s going to pay off.

Victor Solomon auditions for “American Idol.” | Disney

Victor Solomon auditions for ‘American Idol’

For his “American Idol” debut, Solomon, now 26, opted to use his moment in the spotlight to perform Lionel Richie’s “Hello.”

With Richie watching nearby, Solomon brought a soulful twist to the 1980s pop hit. Just a few seconds into the performance, it was already clear Richie was loving it. As Solomon sang, the “Idol” coach smiled and shook his head. By the time it was over, the singer had a standing ovation from Richie.

“In my entire career, I have never had anyone take ‘Hello’ and preach on ‘Hello,’” Richie said. “That was really, really special.”

Richie declared that he could see Solomon making it to the top 20 in the competition — a prediction the “Idol” coaches don’t make lightly.

“I’m really excited to see your interpretations of different songs through different rounds,” “Idol” coach and country singer Luke Bryan added. “So sing all these genres. Have fun with your talent, because it is really good.”

Country superstar Carrie Underwood, a first-time “Idol” judge who has returned to the show 20 years after winning Season 4, told Solomon he had “been given an incredible gift” before sending him through to the next round of the competition in Hollywood.

“That was special,” Richie told his fellow “Idol” coaches as Solomon walked away with his golden ticket. “That was his song — that was not my song.”

“DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN???” Solomon shared on Instagram. “I just got the golden ticket to Hollywood! … Grateful to be here! To God be the Glory!”

Victor Solomon competed on Season 20 of ‘The Voice’

Solomon was a standout contestant during his run on “The Voice” back in 2021. The singer, who grew up singing in church and in school choirs, immediately formed a connection with Legend after his performance of “Glory.”

“I grew up in a church, I grew up singing gospel music, and when we wrote that song, it was meant to evoke the hymns that we grew up listening to, and the songs that carried a lot of our ancestors through a lot of tough times when they were marching for voting rights and all these other things,” Legend told Solomon after his audition, as the Deseret News previously reported.

Legend went on to perform an impromptu duet of his song “Ordinary People” with Solomon during the “Voice” audition. Throughout the competition, the coach offered Solomon high praise, at one point declaring the contestant’s rendition of Beyonce’s “Freedom” to be the “best performance” he’d ever seen on “The Voice” stage, as the Deseret News reported.

Solomon attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music after graduation, according to his website.

In addition to pursuing music, Solomon is also the associate director at a Chick-fil-A in the Los Angeles area, per his LinkedIn.

The singer released his latest single, “The Power Song,” in 2023.