‘American Idol’ Judge Luke Bryan: ‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’ After Stunning Performance

This might be Luke Bryan‘s second season as a judge on American Idol, but he is still amazed by the talent he and fellow judges Lionel Richie and Katy Perry get to witness. After watching hundreds and hundreds of performers, one hopeful singer, Alejandro Aranda, left Bryan completely stunned.

“I just feel like I’m in the presence of greatness,” Bryan gushed after watching Aranda sing and play guitar, followed by a performance on the piano. “I’ve just never seen somebody do what you just did with a guitar. I mean, I’m in the presence of greatness. I have nothing to tell you other than I am so glad you are here.

“I’ve just never seen anything like that,” Bryan continued. “It has totally rocked my world. It was like watching my favorite movie, that I did not want to end.”

Aranda’s audition wasn’t the only one that left the three judges in awe. Blind contestant Shayy Winn also was impressive enough to earn a unanimous trip to Hollywood.

“You have what we cannot teach,” Bryan said after Winn’s flawless rendition of Andra Day’s “Rise Up.” “We cannot teach letting the music flow straight from the soul, and that’s what you did.”

The auditions so far prove what Bryan promised at the start of the season: that the talent this year far surpassed anything he saw last year.

“I think one of the most important things is that we feel like the talent is really, really next-level stuff,” Bryan told ABC News Radio. “And we feel like we have people that walk out, that they’re not just walking out and they’re just singing, they truly have stories to tell.”

“They’re true artists,” he continued. “And they’re so good, they just, even help legitimize our show so much more when we have extremely talented kids on the show.”

Richie echoed Bryan’s sentiments, promising that the caliber of singers this year was worth people tuning in each week.

“If you thought last year had talent, Oh. My. God!” Richie stated. “They came out of the woodwork! I think the kids actually saw the first [season] and realized, okay, we not only give great advice, but on top of that, we’re having a lot of fun … and we’re not so scary!”

Watch Aranda’s entire audition here. American Idol will return on Sunday night, March 10 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: ABC / Disney