Jayson Arendt Of Banana Ball League Texas Tailgaters On American Idol

Jayson Arendt, a 24-year-old Banana Ball League player and aspiring singer from Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, made one of the most unforgettable entrances of the season during his American Idol audition, bringing baseball, dancing, and country music together in true Banana Ball fashion.

As the Idol audition speakers blared “Cotton Eyed Joe,” a sea of guys in royal blue baseball jerseys, led by Arendt, danced their way into the room. The group, known as the Texas Tailgaters, are an entertainment baseball team that’s part of the Banana Ball Championship League, made famous by the Savannah Bananas. The unexpected entrance immediately caught the judges off guard.

“What’s happening? What’s happening’s going on? What’s going on?” Idol judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan wondered. Bryan couldn’t resist jumping in to dance with the group in the middle of the room.

Luke Bryan Dancing With Texas Tailgaters On American Idol

Arendt soon answered their question, handing each judge a custom Texas Tailgaters jersey and introducing himself as the group’s singer, as the rest of the team gathered behind the piano on the side of the audition room to watch.

“I’m here today with the Texas Tailgaters, which is in the Banana Ball Championship league. You might be familiar with the Savannah Bananas. We play with them. It’s entertainment baseball is what it is. They’ll compare us to the Harlem Globetrotters a lot, but it’s very competitive, too. We’re all best friends, and we all get along, and it’s great. I got into it actually as a singer outside of the actual game. We’ll put on concerts. The whole point is just to keep the fans engaged the whole time and make sure they have fun.”

Luke Bryan continued to joke with the team, asking, “How did I do? Oh, you ought to see me pitch,” to which Arendt confidently replied, “I think we can make that happen.” Underwood put on her new baseball swag before asking Jayson Arendt to showcase his vocal talent.

When Arendt revealed that he would be auditioning with a Chris Stapleton song, Bryan said, “Love it! You better be able to sing.”

Jayson Arendt then delivered a confident performance of “Fire Away” by Chris Stapleton in front of the star-studded panel of Idol judges, wearing a Texas Tailgaters jersey, khaki colored pants and a baseball cap with a duck on it.

As his audition came to a close, his teammates erupted in cheers before the judges applauded his talents.

“I want a team. Alright, Carrie, you already got the gear on. You’re officially a Tailgater,” Bryan began. Carrie Underwood then turned to Lionel Richie, asking him to go first, “I’m going to pass the ball to you.”

Bryan poked fun at Underwood for being distracted by one of Arendt’s teammate’s abs and apologized before asking Lionel Richie for his feedback. “Alright, so now listen, you’ve got a nice voice. You’ve got a distinguishable voice, and we don’t have anything like that yet,” Richie told Arendt.

Underwood followed with thoughtful advice of her own. “I think I’ve got my thoughts together,” Underwood added. “I think my thing is, if you do end up going forward, it’s just the taking this part of you seriously. You know what I mean? Like you guys are obviously so much fun. I love it. And I want to feel you emote. I want to hear more.”

Jayson Arendt With Banana Ball League Texas Tailgaters On American Idol

Bryan then offered some constructive criticism, telling Arendt, “I used to try to sing everything as loud as I could. It took me years to kind of go, ‘you know, I don’t have to sing loud every time I can kind of calm it down.’ So just think about that.”

Richie was the first to vote “yes.” As Underwood prepared to cast her vote, Arendt’s teammates began playfully teasing her. “Come on. That’s an easy yes,” one of the teammate said with a laugh while flaunting his abs.

Underwood fired back, “I got my own set of abs to stare at it at home. Not mine, mine husbands. I want to know who you are as an artist, so I’ll say yes.”

With three “yes” votes, Arendt officially earned his golden ticket to Hollywood Week, which will take place in Music City this year. But the moment wasn’t over just yet. “You thought we were done?” Arendt asked the Idol judges before launching into a choreographed line dance to “Hicktown” by Jason Aldean. Luke Bryan immediately joined the Texas Tailgaters to show off his signature dance moves.

“I didn’t expect Luke Bryan to bust a move like that, but I guess you see something new every day,” Arendt admitted. “I’m going to Hollywood Week!”

Jayson Arendt Of Banana Ball League Texas Tailgaters On American Idol

The Season 24 premiere of American Idol aired Monday, January 26 at 8/7c on ABC and will be available to stream on Hulu. New episodes will continue to air every Monday at 8/7c.