During Wednesday night’s (February 23) “American Idol” round 2 auditions in Las Vegas, Jennifer Lopez, along with fellow judges, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler, searched for the next star.
They were tasked with narrowing the group of 61 hopefuls down to 40, which would in turn be trimmed to 24 as the show made it’s return to Hollywood where it would resume its normal weekly format.
Wednesday’s (Feb 23) competition saw the lucky 40 challenged with the task of performing their very own renditions of legendary Beatles songs.
Although the Beatles’ renditions made for a very exciting night, it was 26-year-old Chris Medina, the barista from Oak Forest, Illinois who ultimately stole the show.
Chris bravely joined the competition in honor of his fiancée Juliana, who has been tragically confined to a wheelchair and suffered brain damaged after being involved in a horrific auto accident back in October of 2009. When it was his turn to shine, Medina, for his part, churned out a pair of decent performances with the Beatles classic‚ “A Hard Day’s Night” and Coldplay’s “Fix You,” but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to secure one of the highly coveted top 24 spots.
A teary eyed J. Lo broke the news to Chris, telling him:
“It honestly breaks my heart to say this, but you did not make it into the top 24,” .
After giving him his walking papers, a weary Lopez broke down crying, saying “I just don’t feel like I told him in the right way,” to which her fellow Idol judges reassured the stunning beauty that she had indeed given Medina a soft landing on his way out.
Watch the heart wrenching moment unfold below:
Whew……talk about a tear-jerker!!
