Black Mountain's Max Dasher shares his 'American Idol' experience ahead of Hollywood Week
Max Dasher grew up watching “American Idol,” and now he’s getting his shot to compete.
Dasher’s audition for the show aired March 3. With a three “yeses” from judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, he received a “golden ticket” to the next round of auditions: Hollywood Week.
Dasher grew up in Louisiana but has been living in Black Mountain for the past five years. He currently works at Pure & Proper and plays shows around the area.
Growing up, Dasher said he and his sister Laela would play music in church and for various events. Laela Dasher also auditioned for “American Idol” and received a golden ticket as well.
Dasher said he learned to play guitar and started writing songs, and he and his sister started posting them on Instagram.
“That kind of led to some people seeing it and asking us if we wanted to be on the show, which led to us eventually being on the show,” Dasher said.
The Dashers auditioned in Nashville, Tennessee, in what Max Dasher called a “nerve-wracking” experience.
“We went into this place and waited with all these other contestants for days,” Dasher said. “We finally got our shot to go in before the judges, and we were all super nervous and tired.”
Despite the nerves, Dasher said the experience was “super surreal and super cool” and that he and his sister are excited for the next round of competition.
There are still two more audition episodes to air on March 17 and March 24, but Hollywood Week is set to air March 31 on ABC.
Dasher auditioned with the song “Rock Salt & Nails,” originally by Utah Phillips. The clip on the “American Idol” YouTube channel has garnered 828,000 views as of March 13.
His audition earned a standing ovation from Perry.
“You have that sparkle,” Perry said after Dasher’s audition. “It’s the stuff. There’s like an undeniable authenticity. It’s like a gold rush.”
Bryan told Dasher he has a “little bit of magic,” but he needs to calm down and breathe.
Richie compared Dasher to James Dean and told him his mantra should be, “I’m 18 and I look like James Dean.”
Outside of “American Idol,” Max and Laela Dasher also have an album coming out in early May with a downtown Black Mountain show planned to celebrate the release of the album.
The album, which Max Dasher said is called “Places,” will focus on the siblings' journey from Louisiana to Black Mountain.
“It’s basically about us coming from Louisiana, a place that we knew our whole life to the mountains and coming to know ourselves in the mountains and our love for the Appalachia area and the Blue Ridge mountains,” Dasher said. “It’s full of that rich Southern charm, but also that Appalachian feel and that mountain music. We just have a real heart for it.”
Dasher said his long-term goal is to be a full-time musician.
“My goal is to be able to do music full-time,” Dasher said. “I love it with all my heart. That’s what my passion is and that’s what I want to do with the rest of my life.”
Karrigan Monk is the Swannanoa Valley communities reporter for Black Mountain News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kmonk@blackmountainnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Black Mountain's Max Dasher on 'American Idol' ahead of Hollywood Week
