'American Idol' contestant from Pasadena wins golden ticket after stunning judges with performance

PASADENA, Texas (KTRK) -- Pasadena native singer Nick Connors is heading to Hollywood after receiving a golden ticket from the three "American Idol" judges.

The video above is from a previous report.

The 22-year-old contestant, who now lives in Nashville, Tennessee, auditioned for season 22 of "American Idol" and amazed the judges with his performance of Adele's "Easy on Me."

Connors earned a yes from the three judges: Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan.

"You've got some real magic sauce going in there," Bryan said, praising Connors' cover of Adele.

"You could go top-24 this year," Perry added after giving words of encouragement to Connors' vocals.

In 2015, Connors impressed former Houston Texans star J.J. Watt after he sang the national anthem at a Rockets game when he was 12.

"J.J. Watt was there, and he ran across the court when they were escorting me off of it, and he tapped my shoulder, and I turned around, and I had what they call a 'priceless reaction,'" Connors told ABC13. "He had tweeted about me, 'Where can I find Nick?' and I wanted to, if he ever sees this, thank him."

Connors now continues his "American Idol" journey to advance to the Los Angeles rounds.

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