Season 23 of American Idol continued the audition phase on Sunday night as judges Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan traveled to New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville to find music's next superstar. The two-hour episode aired Sunday, March 23 (8 p.m. Et/Pt) with Ryan Seacrest hosting.

The night's most memorable moment belonged to Freddie McClendon, the 19-year-old son of Davis McClendon, a 46-year-old father of three who was murdered in 2023. "One of my favorite memories — I was around 15 years old and my dad took me to Nashville for the first time," Freddie said prior to his audition. "Seeing Music City and Broadway — he said, 'You know Freddie, that's gonna be you one day.' It's happening today!"

"I've been writing music since I was a freshman in high school," he told the judges. "I really started doing it seriously about a year ago when my dad passed away. My...