American Idol Contestant Brings Judges to Tears with Tribute to Late Father After Viral True Crime Tragedy

The episode, which marked the fourth week of Season 23 auditions, ended with a moving performance from 19-year-old Freddie McClendon, whose father's murder became a true-crime obsession.

On May 7, 2023, Freddie's father, Davis McClendon, was discovered on the side of a road in Greenwood, South Carolina, after becoming trapped between his own car and another vehicle.

Following an investigation and trial, it was determined that the incident was intentional, and the person responsible was William "Bud" Ackerman Jr., the estranged husband of Meredith Haynie, whom Davis had been dating for several months.

Davis was separated from Freddie's mother at the time of the incident.

The hit-and-run not only made headlines, it became the subject of various true-crime podcasts and series nationwide, and even made it into an episode of CBS' 48 Hours earlier this month.

Because of the media attention surrounding Davis' death and the gruesome way in which he died, Freddie wanted to tell people more about how he lived, recounting one of his favorite memories with his late father.

"One of my favorite memories -- I was around 15-years-old and my dad took me to Nashville for the first time," he recalled. "Seeing music city, seeing Broadway, he told me, he said, 'Freddie, that's gonna be you one day. You're gonna be that."

Honoring his father's memory, Freddie penned and performed a beautiful original song called, "You Never Loved Him," that he says tells the story of his dad's life.

"I miss him every day. While you're already dealing with his death, you gotta deal with all of these people talking about the person that he was when they didn't know him like we did," Freddie said. "He was something so much bigger that just the true crime story of the week. He was our dad and he meant the world to us."

The moving song had all three judges tearing up, with Carrie Underwood declaring that she needed a second before praising the 19-year-old.

"Thank you for bringing that and for sharing your heart," Underwood said through tears. "It's so brave of you to decide that you want to choose the narrative -- that you want to remember him; not what happened, but him. And you must have an incredibly supportive family, and you guys lean on each other ... It was a good song, and you could feel your heart behind it."

Luke Bryan praised Freddie's "honest" approach to performing, calling him a "modern-day Paul Simon or something."

"You were able to translate that emotion, that feeling, to the point that you moved people, and that's what you're in this business to do," Lionel Richie said before inviting Freddie's family in to give them the exciting news that he was going to Hollywood.

With three yeses from the judges, Freddie advances to the next round in his effort to make his dreams come true.

"I'm so proud that I was able to tell my dad's story, and it meant the world that it resonated with Carrie Underwood. That was incredible," Freddie gushed. "I'm beyond blessed."

American Idol airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.