A Christian teenager who auditioned for “American Idol” recently advanced in the competition after singing a powerful song about sin, God, and truth. Jennifer Jeffries, a 17-year-old senior in high school from Starkville, Mississippi, is the youngest of nine children. She appeared on the reality singing competition, performing an original song called “Change My Ways.”
She sang, “I’ve got my Bible on my desk. With no highlights, creases, pages are still crisp.” She proclaimed, “I have been feeding flesh. I have been living in sin. My mouth’s been running wild, and I’ve been acting like a wild child.” The piece includes a prayer declaring, “God, I know you’re there,” and asking God to “make Your ways my ways.” She vowed, “I’ll sing your praise for all my days. I’ll finally change, Lord. Make your ways my ways.” The song concludes by contrasting the singer’s Bible at the beginning of the song, which had barely been used, with its current state, which contains “faded pages” and “highlighted paragraphs.”
After Jeffries’ performance, the judges expressed exasperation at how much they enjoyed it. Judge Luke Bryan said, “I was not expecting that voice. Judge Lionel Richie remarked, “I am sitting here thinking the same thing.” Bryan praised Jeffries’ “amazingly unique voice that I don’t think we’ve ever kind of heard.” Judge Katy Perry commented on what she described as “this unique grit” that is “so Mississippi” and “so raw.” Bryan contended that Jeffries had an “indie film soundtrack voice.”
“What I’m in love with is your uniqueness,” Richie added. When Perry asked if she played “around town,” Jeffries responded, “I was going to start playing in bars because we’ve got plenty of ’em, but there’s an age limit sometimes.” All three judges voted “yes” to send her to the next stage of the competition, Hollywood Week. Bryan presented her with the “golden ticket” to Hollywood.
Jeffries took to Instagram after her audition aired to “express how thankful I am to be going to HOLLYWOOD!!!!” Jeffries said she has been writing songs focusing on her faith for over a year. In a November 2022 Instagram post, Jeffries elaborated on her faith journey and how it influenced a song she was creating. “As I started writing this song back in August, I took a handful of breaks debating whether or not to finish it or show it to people,” she recalled. “In the song, I sing about the misconception I had of God and Christianity. Only being loved by God while in the church. Being a flaw in God’s design. Being damned to hell for all my wrongdoings.”
“I have never been more glad to be so wrong,” she added. “God’s love isn’t paper thin. It’s not confined to staying between four walls. We feel we have no worth, but God thought we were worth dying for. As [Christians], no sin can keep us out of heaven. And no sin can keep [us] from the love and forgiveness of God, who is omnipresent. We shouldn’t use grace as an excuse for sin, but we shouldn’t use sin as an excuse not to forgive.”
Christian artist Megan Danielle was crowned runner-up last season in the reality TV show’s season finale. Warren Peay, a worship leader on the Colston Branch Church worship team in South Carolina, also appeared on “American Idol” last season. He was eliminated from the competition as Danielle and others reached the top 5.