That Time When Ye Showed Up On 'American Idol' Auditions Claiming "no one believed in me"

Published 03/27/2024, 9:08 AM EDT

In the mid-1990s, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, started his career as a music producer for local artists in Chicago and within a decade had already settled well with his first-ever Grammy win. For a decade more, he continued his ascent of a steep climb of success, with his singles and studio albums flying off the shelves. Far from the incoming turbulence in the late 2020s, he had settled on a satisfactory peak in and around 2016, during which he also auditioned for American Idol, in the company of Kim Kardashian.

A surprise moment for the judges, the entry of the rapper brought forward his own story of struggle and made way for some unexpected amusement.

Kim Kardashian absolutely believed in Ye on his American Idol audition

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In October 2015, Ye and Kim Kardashian happened to be in the vicinity of the American Idol auditions arena and decided to make a surprise stop at the San Francisco venue. Soon after, the host, Ryan Seacrest, convinced the rapper to perform the segment on camera, setting the stage for wide reception and hype upon its airing later in January 2016. However, the biggest highlight happened when the then-39-year-old rapper sang ‘Gold Digger’ for the judges, including Jennifer Lopez.

Also in the presence of co-judges, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr., Ye rapped verses that directly referred to the ‘On the Floor’ singer. Furthermore, as part of his introductory speech, he declared, “I always wanted to rap and no one believed in me”. Remarkably, his now ex-wife, Kim Kardashian, stayed backstage all the while and confided to the host that “I'm not really nervous because I do really believe in him”. Lastly, the key takeaway came as the singer walked out victorious with a golden ticket.

Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Share a Sweet Moment at Their Son, Saint West’s Basketball Game

Almost a decade later, the 'Donda' singer's career has taken to another direction as he stands on the cusp of making a decision that may alter the music industry.

Vultures and its volumes may not go the streaming route

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Ye and Ty Dolla $ign announced three parts of their mega-collaboration ‘Vultures’. Staying true to the same, the first of it dropped on February 10, although amid delays. However, despite mixed reception, ‘Carnival’ from its catalog went on to become a runaway hit. The song managed to hold its own against major releases from Queen Bey and Ariana Grande as it held onto the top position of the Billboard charts.

The second volume, ‘Vultures 2’, scheduled for March 8, underwent incessant delays and how has now crossed close to three weeks of unreasoned delays. Although in interactions with fan pages, the rapper hinted at not releasing ‘Vultures 2’ on streaming platforms altogether and rather wished for fans to buy it off Yeezy. Regardless, with no official word on the same, fans can only pin their hopes on the next rumored date.

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Amidst ‘Vultures 2’ Anticipation, Ye Hints at Something Big With His 88-Keys Setup

What are your thoughts on Ye auditioning for American Idol? Let us know in the comments below.

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Imteshal Karim

942 articles

Imteshal Karim is a Hollywood News reporter at NetflixJunkie. With a penchant for writing in multiple forms, he is a published writer with his works published in anthologies. A star at his college’s writing competitions, he loves telling a good story and hopes to tell impactful ones about the unexplored side of the Entertainment industry.

Edited By: Itti Mahajan

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