FORDSVILLE, Ky. — A small-town Kentucky teen has made his way to Hollywood to compete in American Idol. 

What You Need To Know

  • Dakota Hayden will appear on ABC's American Idol

  • The teenager hails from Fordsville, Kentucky

  • He's played small shows around Fordsville

  • Hayden credits his family with pushing him to sing.

17-year-old Dakota Hayden grew up in Fordsville, which is about 25 miles southeast of Owensboro.

When his audition was featured on ABC’s hit show a few weeks ago, word in his hometown spread fast.

“When I was growing up, I always wanted to perform out in front of big audiences, but I didn’t have, like, enough courage to do it.” Hayden told Spectrum News 1. “And then I finally, I guess, worked up enough courage to be able to go and sing there. My parents, my family, were pushing me to do that.”

Hayden says as a teenager, he’s played some small shows in the area around Fordsville, but he’s never sung in front of an audience like he might in Hollywood.

When he auditioned in Nashville, judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie were impressed.

“When you saw us up here smiling the whole time you were singing, it’s not because we were laughing at you. It’s because we were thinking to ourselves, ‘We found somebody here,’” Richie told Hayden.

“I think you’re top 10 material,” Perry added.

“It kind of blew my mind,” Hayden said, adding that he wasn’t sure he’d make it past the audition but was hoping to at least get some good criticism.

No matter what lies ahead, Hayden says he won’t forget the small town in which he grew up.

“Everybody here is, like, amazing. So, I don’t know, I couldn’t think of a better place to grow up. That’s just me though, and that’s my opinion,” he smiled.

American Idol’s Hollywood Week starts Monday, March 28. Hayden says he’s already been strategizing ahead of time, trying to pick out some good songs to perform.