Ah, the good old days of schlock reality television shows. Remember the Survivor? What about the Top Model or American Idol? Yes, let’s talk about the Idol for a second. Just how many deluded people have we seen on that show? Every week there’d been at least one or two extremely talented singers in the lineup. And then there was that one laughing stock we all pointed our fingers at for months to come.
Enter Nicholas Zitzmann with his uncanny rendition of “Unchained Melody.” In 2015, this 27-year-old software engineer came all the way from Midvale, Utah, to show off his great vocal skills to the three judges of the Americal Idol. It’s not that rare to see people with technical degrees try their luck in singing competitions, but they rarely get past the first gate. Please don’t hate me! You know it’s true.
Imagine being a software engineer in some company, sitting behind a screen all day long and thinking to yourself: “Boy, I sure can sing! Probably. Maybe? It wouldn’t hurt to try my voice on a national show known for making fun of people who can’t sing. Oh, and I’ll choose one of the judge’s favorite songs that’s also incredibly difficult! What could possibly go wrong?”
According to the artist, he was spurred on by his colleagues to pursue this pipe dream even though they had no idea he could sing. They did praise him as a musician, however, so that’s something. Not all those who can play an instrument are talented vocalists, especially when it comes to high-difficulty songs like Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers.
One way or another, Nick Zitzmann is by far one of the most notable American Idol participants of the past seven years. Even the show takes heed of his strange personality through its clever editing. As Nick entered the stage, you could tell that Simon was all about his wild energy, especially when Nick said he was a leading choir voice.
As you would imagine, our sweetest software engineer absolutely butchered Simon’s beloved song, and for some reason, he just kept going! Funny enough, only Simon actually hated the performance, while the other two judges were probably hard of hearing. In one fell swoop, Nick became one of the most infamous non-celeb in America.
But that’s not the end of this unusual story! Zitzmann decided to take Cowell’s criticism without running away in tears as many others have done before. When Ryan Seacrest asked him whether he’ll try again, Nick lied and said, “maybe next year.” After the young Idol reviewed his tape, the result must have changed his mind.
Some time later, Nicholas released a 10-minute long video response where he accused the show’s producers and editors of making him look bad on purpose. Oh, sweet Nicholas, they didn’t even need to move a muscle. It was all you, baby!
And so, this funny audition has gone viral and became known as one of the worst ever on American Idol. But hey, we’re still talking about this guy, so even bad publicity can be good for you.
