Broken Arrow Man Heads to Next Round of ‘American Idol’

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — A Broken Arrow man is heading to the next round of “American Idol” after impressing all three judges on the long-running competition.

Twenty-one-year-old Tanner Charles performed his original song “Golden Eyes” for his debut episode on the show Sunday night. Charles told judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie that he wrote the song for his girlfriend.

“This is a song I wrote for you. I was going to give it to you on your birthday next week but this is different so I’ll give it to you now,” Charles told his girlfriend during the audition, who the judges allowed inside to watch.

“American Idol” judge Katy Perry appeared to get emotional during Charles’ performance. Charles told NewsChannel 8 last week that he was the most nervous about performing in front of the pop music star.

“Katy Perry for me was the most intimating,” said Charles. “She’s the one I grew up listening to.”

Charles told NewsChannel 8 that his singing ability attracted ‘American Idol’ producers and allowed him to jump straight to his audition in front of the celebrity judges after just one other interview round. He said he’s no stranger to the microphone, currently serving as a worship leader at BattleCreek Church-Broken Arrow for the past few years.

“When I first heard that Tanner was going on American Idol, I wasn’t surprised at all,” said BattleCreek Church band member Noah Kinnison.

Other church members NewsChannel 8 spoke with Sunday echoed those words, adding that in addition to his voice, Charles is also a very well-liked man who brightens up any room that he walks into. They said that they were excited to see the rest of his journey unfold over the rest of this process.

“There are going to be thousands of other people as well that may be impacted by the gift God’s given him as well,” said Battle Creek Church worship pastor Trey Garland. “It’s going to be really awesome and I’m super excited for him.”

Charles posted his own reaction to the episode that you can find below. “American Idol” airs Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. on News Channel 8.