HENRICO, Va. – Henrico School graduate and American Idol finalist Rayvon Owen performed a free concert at the James Center downtown on Friday.
After his downtown concert he headed back to his alma mater, where his rendition of “You Raise Me Up,” was performed with the Henrico High School chorus.
“It’s the first time I didn’t feel like I was in a competition, everything kinda blurred out except for her and,” Owen described the moment he sang to his mom on Tuesday, when he performed Justin Bieber’s Believe. “I wanted to honor her in that moment.”
The judges were all impressed and Jennifer Lopez said it brought tears to her eyes.
https://twitter.com/AmericanIdol/status/593594688247992322400
The 23-year-old singer has proven to have nine lives this season. He was in the bottom two for four weeks and was ultimately saved by Twitter fans, a new method use by producers in the 14th season of the show.
Owen’s crowd appeal shined through again, with around 400 in attendance, even amid the rain.
“I am the next American Idol and I believe I can do this, but it’s really important – it’s critical -- I need your support, I need Richmond’s help with this, every vote matters, every vote counts,” he told CBS 6 reporter Raymond Hawkes.
“I see the tweets, I see the Facebook posts, I see the likes and it speaks to my heart,“ Owen said. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.”
“We gonna bring this home!” he exclaimed to the enthusiastic crowd.
A big crowd showed up despite the rain for Rayvon Owen's homecoming concert
“It’s a tough industry to break in to,” Owen said as he recounted hitting the road on his own as a recording artist, after college. He shared a little known fact: he’s auditioned five times for American Idol.
He said his mother encouraged him to just give it one more try.
“It’s just like that song said, we believe,” said his mother Patrice Fitzgerald, after she expressed thanks for the crowd that turned out. “This is a feeling I can’t even describe; it is amazing.”
“Thank you, Richmond,Virginia for showing up and coming out,” she added.
“People are pulling for me at the last minute when it really matters,” Owen said “and that has really inspired me and made me like I could really win.”
Perhaps, this will be the big break. Next week, the show goes from four finalists to three. Then on Tuesday, May 12, from three to two. The winner will be announced on May 13.
