Lionel Richie sobs at Elijah McCormack’s performance

Nothing could stop Elijah McCormack from getting his golden ticket on “American Idol” – not even several close encounters with death.

The long-running singing competition returned to ABC Sunday night with a contestant telling judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie that he had to miss trying out for the show back in 2019 after suffering a serious car accident that left him needing to relearn how to walk and talk.

McCormack, a 21-year-old ophthalmologist technician from Raeford, North Carolina, said he flatlined nine times after the fiery crash, which occurred hours after his graduation ceremony. Before the accident, his mother had signed him up to try out for “American Idol.”

“The last thing I remember is dropping my friend off at her house, and I was only a mile away from home,” McCormack said, adding he spent almost 80 days in the hospital and underwent about 10 procedures, including open heart surgery.

“His first question to me (after the accident) was, ‘Momma, can I still sing?’ ” his mother said.

Elijah McCormack compared to late ‘Idol’ legend Willie Spence after stunning Rascal Flatts cover

McCormack can definitely still sing. He blew the judges away and brought Richie to tears with his rendition of “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts.

Bryan and Richie said McCormack’s voice immediately reminded them of another “Idol” legend: Willie Spence, who finished in second place on Season 19 and died in a car crash in October 2022.

“The last person that I saw approach singing like you was Willie Spence,” Bryan said.

Richie added: “That’s what got me. You hit one of those notes, and I thought of Willie, and from then on I couldn’t recover.”

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Richie also told McCormack that “God brought you back nine times for you to do something amazing.”

“I’m so glad you’re here with us, and that was just one of the moments in my life I will never forget,” he continued.

Perry assured the singer this is “the beginning of your story.”

“I can’t believe you came to us,” she said. “You’re just here fulfilling your destiny. This was always meant to be.”

After McCormack earned his three yeses, Perry quipped: “He’s top 10 for sure.”

Is Preston Duffee the next Luke Bryan? Katy Perry thinks so

Contestant Preston Duffee has also experienced hardship. The 21-year-old South Carolina resident told the judges about his mother’s death by suicide which resulted in a period of homelessness for his family.

“Just because you’re suicidal or depressed doesn’t make you weak,” Duffee said. “It jumps on people, and when it comes around you can’t help it.”

He performed a vulnerable original song called “Something To Write About” which earned high praise from the judges. “Songwriting is a skill, and you nailed that,” Richie said.

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Perry told Bryan to watch out: Duffee may be coming for his fans.

“I just feel like I’m looking at a young Luke Bryan,” she said, to which Duffee replied: “The ladies at church call me Luke.”

“Man, you’ve got a really bright future as a songwriter, and your voice will grow and be stronger,” Bryan said.

Duffee earned a golden ticket.

Olivia Soli hailed ‘one of the best’ by Luke Bryan after reinventing Lionel Richie’s ‘Hello’

On “Idol,” it’s always a risk to sing a judge’s song – and it’s an even bigger risk to completely rearrange it.

But that didn’t stop Olivia Soli from taking Richie’s iconic hit “Hello” and completely making it her own. The 20-year-old college student from Los Angeles earned rave reviews from the judges and got a standing ovation from Richie.

“I want to be the first in your long career to rush the artist,” Richie said, before running up to give Soli a congratulatory hug. “When people say, ‘I’m gonna sing your song,’ please don’t sing it like us. Own it… You did it to perfection.”

Bryan called Soli “one of the best I’ve seen,” and Perry joked Richie may need to watch his back too.

“You put Lionel Richie out of a job, girl,” she said. Soli earned a ticket to Hollywood.

Adin Boyer, contestant with autism, wows with original song and perfect pitch

For contestant Adin Boyer, music “has always been easy.”

“It’s the other things in life that are not,” he said. During his audition, Boyer opened up about getting diagnosed with autism at age 2, around the time his parents also discovered he had perfect pitch.

Boyer said he can become “absolutely traumatized by sudden, loud noises” such as popping balloons or fire alarms; however, his gift of perfect pitch has helped him cope.