American Idol viewers are flooding to social media as moved as Ed Sheeran after a duo covered one of the musician's songs.
On Sunday's (7 May) episode of the singing competition Alanis Morissette and Ed Sheeran filled in for judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie - who were away in the UK for the coronation of King Charles III.
Contestants were tasked with performing one of Morissette's songs, alongside a duet to a song by Sheeran and 18-year-old Iam Tongi and 25-year-old Oliver Steele provoked an extremely emotional and heartwarming reaction from the 'Castle on a Hill' singer with their rendition of one of his most loved tunes.
Tongi - a high school students from Kahuku, Hawaii - and Steele - a musician from Mount Juliet, Tennessee - performed Sheeran's 'Photograph' which was released as part of his second studio album X in 2014.
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The duo's rendition stayed true to the ballad, both contestants arming themselves with acoustic guitars as they performed the song as well as being accompanied by a small orchestra.
A clip of the performance shows Sheeran watching the duet with an emotional smile on his face and the crowd erupting in applause as the final note is sung.
Reflecting on the performance, Sheeran commented on 'how well' the contestants' voices 'complement each other'.
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Sheeran - who recently won his copyright infringement trial - continued: "That was so beautiful to listen to, both your vocal tones fit so well with each other. I know that both of you have, like - I’m listening to it knowing that there’s a crazy power singing ability that’s in there, but just gentleness and soulfulness you’re bringing. I got emotional listening to that, it was good."
Fellow stand-in judge Morissette added: "Iam and Oliver, I just know you’re coming from two completely different places and yet you have this really cohesive respective connection with each other. I was just really moved, and hearing men be vulnerable is... Be still my beating heart.
"Great job," regular judge Luke Bryan continued. "It had beautiful harmonies."
American Idol viewers flocked to social media in support of the two contestants.
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One YouTube user wrote: "These two guys need to collaborate more in the future bc their voices blend beautifully together. They're a real dynamic duo."
While another echoed: "These two need to make music together after Idol. I can listen to them harmonize all day."
A third commented: "They were so in sync. They both were so SOUND it's unbelievable."
And a fourth said: "WOW!!! EPIC and beautiful cover of Ed's song. You guys sang in PERFECT harmony as one!!! THIS IS WHAT AMERICAN IDOL IS ALL ABOUT!!! IAM IS MY AMERICAN IDOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Sadly, Steele was later eliminated from the competition after not making the top five.
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However, hopefully he and Tongi will fulfil viewers' hopes of continuing to sing together even after leaving the show.
Topics: Ed Sheeran, Music, American Idol, Film and TV, Celebrity, US News, UK News