UVA Wise student auditioned in front of American Idol judges

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with new information from the university.

WISE, Va. (WJHL) – A freshman at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise could be seen performing in front of three of music’s biggest names on national television.

UVA Wise freshman Aidan Bowman auditioned in front of the American Idol judges last semester and could be seen on the show this season, the university announced.

Bowman’s Journey to Idol began thanks to a video sent in by his mother.

“She submitted a video that I had no idea about,” Bowman said. “And then I get an email a few days later saying ‘We want a callback for American Idol’ and [I] got on some zooms.”

Crystal Bowman, Aidan’s mother, said the video she sent in was a spontaneous decision.

“I thought that he did a really, really great job on this one particular version that he gave,” said Crystal. “And so I clipped it down and trimmed it in got online and decided that, hey, let’s give this a try.”

Bristol Casino January revenues lowest since opening

Bowman said he found out about the submission when the callback email arrived.

“I got an email saying, ‘We want you here for a callback’,” said Bowman. “And I went outside and I was like, ‘what is this?’ And she was like, ‘oh, yeah. I sent in a video’ and I was like, ‘You did what?'”

Bowman flew to Los Angeles to audition in front of Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan last semester. The university shared photos of Bowman at auditions, including one of him speaking to host Ryan Seacrest.

“It’s been, hands down, the greatest experience of my life. It’s everything I’ve dreamed of. I’m a huge fan of all three of them and I’m super thankful to be given this opportunity,” Bowman said in a news release from UVA Wise.

Bowman, a native of Pound, Virginia, is studying exercise science at UVA Wise. The university also stated in a social media post that Bowman released his first single “She Knows” on Apple Music and Spotify.

American Idol’s new season premieres at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC Tri-Cities.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather.