Brian Littrell is getting candid about his son Baylee’s stint on Season 23 of American Idol.
The 50-year-old musician made a surprising admission about the topic while chatting exclusively with Parade for the recent cover story alongside his Backstreet Boys bandmatesAJ McLean, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson and Howie Dorough.
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“It wasn’t [my idea] actually,” Littrell began. “To be honest with you, I didn’t want him to do it at first, but they courted him for a couple of years. They were like, ‘Come and audition,’ and he was like, ‘Nah.’ I don’t think he was ready at that time, but he did well. He stepped up. He’s super professional. He’s just a great individual. He’s just a great person. He has a heart of gold, and he’s super talented.”
Baylee, 22, made it to the Top 20 on the most recent season of American Idol, but did not advance to the Top 14.
Littrell continued: “I get choked up a little bit when I talk about my boy. He’s just [the] most inspiring thing in my life right now. He inspires me more than anything. Top 20 isn’t a bad thing out of 124,000. Let me just take this shameless plug really quick: His first single comes out [July 24]. It’s called ‘Hey Jesus.’ Check that out.”
Littrell’s bandmates also couldn’t help but gush about Baylee’s appearance on the long-running singing competition series. In fact, McLean, 47, told Parade that he was “bawling his eyes out” when he watched his first performance.
“We’ve known Baylee his whole life, so to watch him come from singing with us during soundcheck to opening up for us back in the day to now, having his own career… He’s an incredible songwriter,” he said. “It’s unbelievable, the level of talent. Obviously, the apple didn’t fall far. Honestly, he did fantastic in my opinion.”
Related: Watch a Backstreet Boys Member’s Son Wow ‘American Idol’ Judges With an Original Song