During Sunday night's (March 3) episode of "American Idol," country-singing teen Max Dasher got compared to James Dean for his throwback charm— and, more importantly, he earned a golden ticket to Hollywood. On the same episode, Max made a surprise re-appearance as an acoustic guitarist for his sister Laela Dasher's own audition.
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Laela sang "Angel From Montgomery," a song penned by John Prine and made famous by Bonnie Raitt. It's become a go-to vocal showcase for contestants on both "American Idol" and "The Voice."
Afterwards, Katy Perry said that musical talent is "definitely in the DNA" of the Dasher siblings, with Lionel Richie echoing that with "it's in the blood."
However, Perry was hesitant to send Laela on to the next round.
"Layla, your brother and you have some similarities in delivery as far as volume goes. I was looking for a little bit more, and I'm just torn," Perry said.
Luke Bryan asked to hear the brother-sister duo to sing together, and they obliged with a snippet of an original song.
"It's just magical. I don't know what you all [are] going to do next, but I know I'm going to like it," Richie responded before voting "yes."
Perry stuck with her gut and voted "no," leaving Bryan as the deciding vote.
"I'm not busting y'all up! I'm giving you a yes," Bryan decided.
A little online sleuthing turned up that Max and Laela's dad, Zach Dasher, is a maternal nephew of "Duck Dynasty" patriarch Phil Robertson. Famous kinfolk Sadie Robertson was among those offering congrats to Laela's celebratory Instagram post.
Per Laela's post, the entire immediate family were in attendance for the siblings' auditions.
"American Idol's" ongoing 22nd season airs Sunday nights on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
