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Season 22 of “American Idol” has brought many welcome surprises to the audiences. Right from the start, the season was defined by the rise of Country singers, out of whom Will Moseley stood out for his strong voice, stage presence, and unique lyrics. Week after week, Will Moseley brought the best of himself to the show’s stage, safely surpassing every challenge put his way, and the final result was….don’t be impatient!?
While Will’s journey in “American Idol” has awakened the support of thousands of people, including his fellow Georgia natives, he’s also been criticized for certain aspects of his past, turning him into one of the most controversial contestants this season.
So what’s with Will Moseley? What will he do after season 22 of “American Idol” ends? What about his past, and what was the result of Season 22? Keep listening to find out!
Will Moseley has been one of the most talked-about singers in season 22 of “American Idol”. His story is not like others, as his path as a musician began when he was in college, after he’d just stopped playing football for good.
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With this newfound passion, Will began his path as a singer, musician, and songwriter, touching the hearts of those who heard his music. It didn’t go any differently once he set foot on the stage of “American Idol”, as he immediately received a warm welcome from the judges and audiences, securing a place until the end of the season alongside two other contestants.
While it’s still early to know what the end of the season will bring Will, the truth is that he has already accomplished many of his dreams, thanks to the show.
Although he owes most of his increasing fame to his journey in “American Idol”, for several years previously, Will Molseley was already exploring the wonders of being a musician
He was born on 10 July 2000 in Hazlehurst, a town in the Southeastern side of Georgia, USA. While there’s still a lot to be discovered about Will’s early life, it’s known that he attended the Knoxville-based Maryville College in Tennessee. As he revealed during his audition interview, he was a football left tackle, whose goal was to protect the quarterback, and it didn’t take long before Will realized that this defensive position on the pitch put his life at risk. He suffered three concussions, and noticed that his health was slowly changing for the worse, leading him to acknowledge that he was at a high risk of irreparably injuring himself.
Later, Will transferred to Georgia Southern, where he learned to play guitar thanks to YouTube tutorials, and began singing to help improve his rhythm while playing. His friends immediately noticed his talent from the beginning, encouraging him to continue singing and making music.
The first song Will Moseley sang on “American Idol” was “Gone for Good”, an original song which did well to highlight his singing and guitar-playing skills. This song also impressed the audience, as he confidently included intriguing phrases such as ‘Are you gone for bad? Are you gone for good?’ in his lyrics.
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Judges Luke Bryan and Katy Perry listened to his entire performance before saying yes, while Lionel Richie only needed to hear a couple of seconds of his song to give him his approval.
Fast forward to the Idol Arena presentation in California – Will performed Chris Stapleton’s “Whiskey and You” after revealing his intention of becoming the next Idol: ‘It’s the only thing I have ever been passionate about in my life’, he said. Also that night, he performed Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine”.
Will’s next performance in the show was of Otis Redding’s “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”, gaining his pass to the following round, which saw him performing Drake White’s “Makin’ Me Look Good Again”. Other songs he performed during the rest of the season include Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s song “Night Moves”, Travis Tritt’s “Modern-Day Bonnie and Clyde”, and Chris Stapleton’s “Starting Over”.
Will Moseley became known in “American Idol” for consistently delivering performances showcasing his great voice and lyricism skills, and his ability to make every song his, regardless of how different these were from his usual style.
His most stellar performances in the show include his “Folsom Prison Blues”, made famous by Johnny Cash, chosen by Lionel Richie for him to sing, resulting in one of his most brilliant performances. He later advanced to the top seven contestants night, when he performed Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Give Me Three Steps”, but shone most brightly when he sang Adele’s “Rolling In The Deep” in a Southern rock style.
During the Disney songs challenge, Will did really well with his rendition of Chris Stapleton’s “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” from the animated movie “Toy Story 4”, and Steppenwolf’s “Born To Be Wild” from “D3: The Mighty Ducks”, originally from the cult classic film “Easy Rider”, so passing on to the finale night of “American Idol”.
Although Will’s journey in the show has been brilliant, his talent and work have been slightly shadowed by a controversy going on the internet. Everything started when curious followers uncovered a video he shared on social media in which a hog is attacked by dogs, apparently in the middle of a hunting trip.
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According to TMZ, these types of hunting practices are not illegal in Will’s native Georgia, where he goes out hunting often, as it’s seen in some of his social media posts. Nevertheless. that didn’t stop fans and advocates for animal protection organizations from speaking out against his actions in the aforementioned video.
While a controversy of this nature could have prevented Will from succeeding in the competition, that wasn’t the case. By the time the issue became viral, Will was still in the top-eight episode of “American Idol”, and continued to advance with no major problems.
Now that Will has reached nationwide fame thanks to his appearances in “American Idol”, he has seen his fame increase in ways he most likely never imagined before. Nowadays, his social media only grows, with him having surpassed the mark of 120,000 followers on Instagram and Facebook, combined.
While there’s no doubt that Will’s social media will keep growing, these numbers have already done wonders for his career. In March 2023, he released his first official single “Fishing For A Living”, and spent the rest of the year releasing songs such as “Somewhere In The Middle” and “Coming Down”, all of which have surpassed 150,000 streams on Spotify, though “Gone For Good” keeps the spot of the most famous with over 900,000 streams on the platform.
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Seeing all the positive results of Will’s journey in “American Idol”, it’s impossible to not recall him saying in one of his early appearances that this is ‘the biggest opportunity’ he has had so far, also adding that it could be ‘the biggest’ he could possibly have.
… and the Winner is…
In a VERY tightly contested finale, as usual in “American Idol”, Will was pipped at the post by Abi Carter, so finished runner-up in Season 22. He performed “It’s My Life” by rock band Bon Jovi, co-written by Jon Bon Jovi, then “My Town” originally performed by duo Montgomery Gentry, written by Reed Nelson and Jeffrey Steele; and finally his own composition “Good Book Bad”.
So what direction is Will Moseley likely to take now? Let’s wait and see, but it’s already clear that he has a bright future ahead.
