A young man who was shamed and bullied for years auditioned for American Idol and blew the judges away with a stunning performance of ‘Strange Fruit’ by Billie Holiday. 18-year-old Douglas Mills said he faced a lot of ridicule over his height and looks and didn’t think he was worthy to audition for American Idol.

But his school apparently had more belief in him than himself and applied for him to audition after hearing him sing and perform in class. The part that touched hearts all over the country was that he had never sat on a plane before because he lived in Texas with his mom who was a single mother and was barely able to make ends meet.

As a video of Mills’ backstory played in the background, the judges’ hearts were moved when he said that music helped him and healed his soul. All 3 judges couldn’t wait for him to start singing and not a single eye was dry when he began performing. No wonder the young man got a standing ovation from Katy Perry, Lionel Ritchie, and Luke Bryan with Katy praising his talent saying, his voice and talent transcends time and space.