New Brunswick singer scores a golden ticket to Hollywood on American Idol

New Brunswick singer Olivier Bergeron auditioned on American Idol this week.

A 22-year-old truck driver from Kedgwick, N.B., has earned a golden ticket to Hollywood after impressing judges on American Idol.

Olivier Bergeron is from a village of about 2,000 people.

“I might be the only singer there,” he told CTV Atlantic’s Katie Kelly in an interview.

Growing up in a French-speaking community, Bergeron played hockey and taught himself to play guitar by watching YouTube videos.

“I just looked at the fingers on the video on YouTube,” he said.

Bergeron reached the semi-finals of Quebec’s “Star Académie,” but said he never imagined “American Idol” would come calling.

“I was like, is it a scam or something like this? So, I asked more questions to be sure it was real,” he said.

He was excited to meet the celebrity judges.

“I love Carrie Underwood and Lionel Richie is just a legend. You know, he worked with Michael Jackson and people like this. And I love the tone of Luke Bryan too.”

Bergeron said he wasn’t nervous to perform but was concerned about communicating.

“The most scary thing is I didn’t speak in English. So, I need to speak in English in front of these judges,” he said.

With unanimous approval from the judges, Bergeron said it was an incredible experience and he can’t wait to share what comes next.

“Right now, you need to watch the next episode Sunday. You’re going to see if I go far on the competition,” he said.

Canadians can watch Bergeron’s journey in real time by streaming American Idol for free on the Roku Channel Sundays at 9 p.m. AT.

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