Caleb Hutchinson talks 'American Idol' heading into Top 14 eliminations

ATLANTA — As the American Idol judges get ready to narrow the performers down to their Top 14 artists, one of the contestants is talking about being able to live out his dream of performing for the last month.

People across the metro have been following Caleb Hutchinson's journey from Dallas, Georgia all the way to Hollywood, California, where he has made it into the Top 24 artists on American Idol.

Hutchinson spoke with Channel 2 Action News on Saturday, where he said first and foremost, he had to thank everyone back home in Georgia for their continued support.

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“I’ve had support before playing gigs and stuff, and they've all kind of come together and got excited about it, so it's been incredible,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said going in front of the judges for the first time was very scary for him.

“They're all great music icons in their own respect,” Hutchinson said. “(It was) one of the most terrifying things I've done in my life.”

One of the judges is also a Georgia native. Hutchinson is getting to be well known for his impression of fellow Georgia son Luke Bryan.

"I've been doing my Luke Bryan impression for years at school and stuff trying to get girls talk to me. I guess they'd rather talk to Luke than me. I kind of had it in my head beforehand. Because I had been doing it for years anyhow," Hutchinson said.

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Hutchinson said Hollywood Week on the show has been one of the most intense weeks of his life.

“There's a reason they call it 'Hell Week'. There's not a lot of sleep happening for most of it. You sing, you wait, you sing some more, you wait, you sing some more. And then you practice for singing. And they cut it down from hundreds of people to just the 50. It's just really, really crazy and emotionally draining,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson said one of the best things he's experienced so far, is meeting former American Idol, Scott McCreery.

"Even before this aired, I always got comparisons to Scotty McCreery. And I mean, I'm one of the last country people on this show," Hutchinson said. "It was funny, you know, because talking to him about it and joking that Scotty was doing an impression of me, and impersonating me, when he was on American Idol, then they brought him in. Just charmin' old Scotty McCreery."

So what does he have in store for us this week? Hutchinson said he will be singing ‘Die a Happy Man’ by Thomas Rhett for his solo performance Sunday night. And then Monday, he sings a duet with Bebe Rexha.

"It was incredible. I was intimidated and scared at first, worried I was going to embarrass myself or she was going to be real mean, but she was a lovely person. Just kind and very patient with me. And she really wanted to help me out. She gave me a lot of great advice that I'll want to hang onto forever,” Hutchinson said.

Make sure to tune in every Sunday and Monday night at 8 p.m. to watch Hutchinson's journey to stardom on American Idol on Channel 2.

Cox Media Group