‘Latin Luke Bryan’ Gets ‘American Idol’ Judges On Their Feet During Audition

On Sunday night’s (Feb. 21) episode of American Idol, a Cuban artist named Yurisbel got judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan up and dancing during his rendition Pitbull’s “Fireball.” The artist, who is currently living in Miami, FL, brought instant energy into the room as he shared his dream to be a Latin singer and told the judges about his grandmother, who is also a singer. Before he launched into the performance, he gave the judges a taste of his dancing, which is when Perry made the comparison between Yurisbel and Bryan.

“You look like a Latin Luke,” she said, after which Yurisbel took off his classes to compare.

The artist then launched into the performance, which included a lot of hip shaking and dancing around the room. All the judges joined in, but Bryan, who is known for doing a little hip shaking of his own, got out from behind his desk and joined in wholeheartedly. Soon, Bryan started walking across the floor on his knees, yelling, “I’m in a trance,” before skipping across the floor and doing more dancing.

After the judges sat back down and caught their breath, they decided on whether they would put Yurisbel through to the Hollywood round. Bryan said yes to his Latin counterpart, Perry said no, and Richie clinched the artist’s trip Hollywood with another yes.

“Because I think the kids need to be able to have some fun, you’re the mascot of fun, it’s a yes from me,” said Richie, after which another dance party broke out.

American Idol airs on ABC every Sunday at 8/7 Central. The auditions run through the March 14 episode, and the Hollywood round begins on March 21.