San Antonio’s Dawson Wayne advances to Top 26 on ‘American Idol’

Dawson Rice, aka Dawson Wayne, has advanced to the Top 26

San Antonio's Dawson Wayne goes before the American Idol judges to learn whether he was chosen to be in the Top 24. (ABC/Eric McCandless, © 2022 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. )

SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio’s Dawson Wayne has advanced to the Top 26 on American Idol.

Fans were able to see his “Showstopper” performance Monday night as Wayne was called before judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.

Wayne performed “Flying” by Cody Fry.

“This is kind of going to be a story about my faith, and I just want everyone here to know you are so loved,” Wayne said as he took the stage.

Before he even started singing, Perry said, “I’m really into this guy.”

As he sang, Richie said, “I love him.”

“That sounded like a pro,” Bryan said as the judges gave Wayne a standing ovation.

San Antonio's Dawson Wayne performs his "Showstopper" on American Idol. (© 2022 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. )

In an interview on the episode, Wayne said he aims to be a storyteller with his music.

“I don’t pretend I’m the biggest voice, but I feel like I can really put in emotion and really just try to connect with people,” he said. “I want to be someone who is putting a positive message out.”

As the judges delivered the news that Wayne would be advancing, Perry told him, “This is your mission now. Forever.”

Wayne auditioned in Nashville, where he received a golden ticket. His audition wasn’t one of the ones shown on the show.

In Hollywood, Wayne performed an original song titled, “Sour Skies” and advanced to the duet round.

His duet of the Bruno Mars hit, “Talking to the Moon” with Sarah Mac wasn’t aired on the show either, but both singers advanced to the showstoppers round.

In the final moments of Monday night’s episode, the judges announced that 26 finalists would be advancing instead of 24.

Fans will next see Wayne in Hawaii as “American Idol” heads to Disney’s Aulani Resort for the next round of performances. Grammy Award-nominated artist Noah Cyrus will serve as a mentor.

The episodes air Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m. on KSAT. (Wayne will perform on Monday’s episode.)

And starting next week, fans will be able to vote for their favorites. You can get more information about how to vote here.

You can text #dawsonidol to 1-855-740-0471 for updates on his progress in the competition and follow Dawson Wayne on Instagram and Tiktok.


About the Author:

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.