Get the tissues ready — a teenage girl named Casey Bishop performed an emotional cover of Soundgarden‘s “Black Hole Sun” on American Idol last night (April 11) and ended up in the Top 12 remaining contestants for this season.
The 16-year-old Bishop already went viral earlier this year with her soulful rendition of Motley Crue‘s “Live Wire,” but her cover of Soundgarden’s classic Superunknown mega-hit is a whole new level.
While it begins soft with only a piano backing her voice, the chorus showcases her grungy ability. And it’s not exactly easy to hit notes as high as Chris Cornell‘s upper register, but she crushes that too. By the end of her performance, all of the judges were standing.
“Why you chose rock, I’ll never know. But it’s your thing and you can sing no matter what you sing,” country artist and American Idol host Luke Bryan commented. Co-host Lionel Richie even compared her talent to that of Janis Joplin.
Yahoo Music also reported that Bishop’s cover was the very first time Cornell had ever been covered on the main stage during the show. Check out the video from last night’s performance below.