Christian Brown Carried On The Family Legacy During His American Idol Audition
When 23-year-old Christian Brown auditioned for the 24th season of American Idol, he brought a familiar face with him: his father, country singer Marty Brown
Marty is known for his early-90s albums and for his time on Season 8 of America’s Got Talent, which landed him a record deal. He’s also made a name for himself as a songwriter. Some of his co-writing credits include Tracy Byrd’s “I’m from the Country,” Perfect Stranger’s “The Hits,” Trace Adkins’ “When I Stop Loving You,” Brooks & Dunn’s “It Ain’t Me If It Ain’t You,” and William Michael Morgan’s “I Pulled a Hank.”
Christian performed his dad’s song, “Wildest Dreams,” for his audition, while his dad watched on, emotionally.
The judges were impressed with Christian’s voice, but they still wanted more from him. Despite this, they advanced him to Hollywood Week!
To make things even more emotional, Christian’s son, Isaiah, was born just four days before his audition.
Christian Chose Family Over American Idol
Christian’s Idol journey did not continue past Hollywood Week. In fact, his time during this part of the competition wasn’t even shown, yet the show still had him doing press while it aired the first few episodes this year, according to WHAS11.
The singer decided to end the press tour early because his son was in need of heart surgery.
On March 2, Christian shared a post on his Facebook page, writing, “I want to take the time tonight to ask my friends, family, and fans to keep my little boy in your thoughts and prayers tonight. We are preparing to go through a lot tomorrow. Our little Isaiah is having heart surgery. Please show some love for this beautiful angel in the comments and share if you’d like.”
His dad, Marty, praised him for choosing his son over the show, writing, “Sometimes in life you have to make choices. Well my son Christian Brown had to choose his son who had to have heart surgery today at Norton’s Children’s Hospital over his journey with the grueling American Idol schedule that would hinder my Grandsons recovery. We are grateful to American Idol for everything!!!! I was proud of him when he auditioned but I’m more proud of him for putting my Grandson first. God will bless him for it too.”
According to ABC affiliate WHAS11, Christian’s young son was diagnosed with “coarctation of the aorta, a congenital narrowing of the aorta – the main artery carrying blood from the heart – which increases blood pressure in the upper body while restricting flow to the lower body.”
“He has to have this fix, or down the road he could have a heart attack or something happen to him,” Christian’s wife, Brenda, told the news outlet.
Christian’s brother went through the same surgery when he was three years old, so he always knew this was a possibility.
He has no regrets about choosing family over music.
“If I had a record deal sitting in front of my face and my son in the other hand, I’d choose my son any time over anything,” Christian said.
In an update two days after the surgery, Christian revealed that it went well!
“This little angel is so strong! I want everyone to know that Little Isaiah is out of his surgery and in perfect condition!” he wrote.
