Olivier Bergeron brought the judges — and much of America — to the brink of tears on American Idol Monday night (April 14), performing Jelly Roll’s “I Am Not Okay” with vulnerability and raw conviction.
The 22-year-old Canadian contestant, who grew up in a French-speaking community in New Brunswick, explained before the performance that music isn’t just a dream for him, it’s a lifeline.
“It’s very hard to be a dreamer where I’m from,” he said in a pre-performance package. “It’s an emergency. I need to be a singer. That’s the only thing I can do. I just want to show to everyone in my hometown that when you believe in something, it’s possible.”
Bergeron took the stage at Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii for the Top 24 round of Season 23, pouring emotion into every line of the Jelly Roll ballad. The artist-in-residence himself …