‘American Idol’ deems Caleb Kennedy song one of amazing original songs of 2021

“American Idol” released a video Friday of what the show deemed “amazing original songs” from the 2021 season that includes Caleb Kennedy’s “Nowhere.”

The video shows a montage of clips from Kennedy’s time on the show, which was upended when a video surfaced showing the South Carolina teen sitting beside someone wearing what appeared to be a hood similar to those worn by the KKK. Kennedy’s mother has said it was made when Kennedy was in middle school and was not intended to be racist.

Kennedy made it to the top five on the show when he dropped out and returned to his hometown of Roebuck, South Carolina, where he has been performing in various bars and festivals while going to high school.

Kennedy’s mother, Anita Guy, said on Facebook Friday, “He made the cut!!”

The video shows the auditions of five singers who wrote the songs they performed.

Kennedy’s video shows him in various scenes, including in Roebuck. It also includes the positive assessments of judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Katy Perry.

Richie said, “You have a storyteller’s voice,” and later added, “I have great expectations for your life.”

Guy also said on Facebook, ‘I’m proud to see they still acknowledged him and his amazing original song!”

The song “Nowhere” is a lament about a guy who plods through life, working, drinking, making mistakes only to end up nowhere. During the audition, Bryan asked who helped him write the song and seemed shocked when Kennedy responded, “no one.”

Kennedy had written one verse for his audition and later finished and performed it on the show.

In March, it was No. 4 on the iTunes music chart.