<\/p>\n
The students\u2019 voices rose in Daniel Stallworth\u2019s classroom.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to hear you louder than the piano,\u201d he said as they sang \u201cAin\u2019t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,\u201d trying to master the notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need to hear all of your voice,\u201d he told them.<\/p>\n
\u201cReady? Sing!\u201d<\/p>\n
It was another day at work for the 27-year-old elementary music teacher from Moss Point, whose life is transforming as he advances on the hit singing competition \u201cAmerican Idol.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lionel Richie, one of the show\u2019s celebrity judges, told Stallworth during his recent audition that his students would hail him \u201cas the greatest thing that ever showed up in their lives.\u201d Carrie Underwood said Stallworth made her smile so big that her cheeks hurt. Stallworth\u2019s thousands of social media followers leave endless comments of praise \u2014 \u201cLet\u2019s go!\u201d \u201cYou deserve it!\u201d \u2014 whenever he shares videos of himself singing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
His ascent on the show is thrilling Moss Point, where residents cheered, applauded and danced in front of televisions when Stallworth belted \u201cDon\u2019t Stop Believin\u2019\u201d during the \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d premiere last month. The Moss Point High School Alumni Association keeps posting on social media in capital letters about his success. The city\u2019s mayor is monitoring the show\u2019s schedule and planning public announcements to alert residents when Stallworth performs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just grateful,\u201d Stallworth said in a phone interview a few days before his next appearance on the show Monday night.<\/p>\n
He has vowed to compete for his students.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to inspire them,\u201d he said, \u201cto never give up on your dream.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
His passion grew early, first in the youth choir, then on the drums at The Greater Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Pascagoula. He joined the elementary school band, then the middle school band. He started singing. He learned to play piano.<\/p>\n
Stallworth graduated in 2016 from Moss Point High School, where he played in the band, and in 2021 from Alcorn State University, where he sang with the gospel choir. He taught music for four years in Port Gibson, Mississippi, moved to Houston a few months ago and also began singing online in Facebook videos.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmerican Idol\u201d noticed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really, really nervous,\u201d Stallworth said of his audition. \u201cBut when it was time for me to sing all the nerves went away.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The spotlight is new to Stallworth, but he is embracing it with modest poise, often wearing a blazer and glasses. The show is teaching him to not get carried away as a performer, he says, and \u201cto not overthink the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an example of what we want all our kids to be,\u201d said Moss Point Mayor Billy Knight, who knows the Stallworth family.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way he carries himself and the life that he leads is so impressive,\u201d Knight said. \u201cThat\u2019s why people are so proud and happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHey y\u2019all, I want to show you something,\u201d Stallworth told his students recently, before his audition aired. He pulled up an \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d promotional video. The screen cut to his face.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s you Mr. Stallworth!\u201d he recalled them yelling. \u201cThey were super hyped,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Stallworth comes from musical roots \u2014 his father is a Baptist minister who also plays bass guitar, and extended family members were talented musicians in their time. Stallworth\u2019s family describes him as passionate, gifted and grounded, with a strength in gospel music.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe gives it his all,\u201d said his mother, Deborah Stallworth. \u201cHe just wants his students to realize that music can be a part of their lives, and that if they have a love and a gift for it, it\u2019s OK to pursue that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is the baby of 15 siblings, and the product of a tight-knit community of loved ones who \u201cwere blowing my phone up,\u201d Stallworth said, after the judges advanced him to the show\u2019s next round. He lists role models across the region \u2014 his church organist, his band director, his father.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThey definitely always showed me how much they loved me and wanted me around,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
His message on national television is also helping Moss Point, a riverfront city of around 12,000 people, \u201cput our name on the map more,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cIt\u2019s good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stallworth has adopted his audition song\u2019s message as a motto, and written it at the top of his growing Facebook page: \u201cBelieve you can succeed, believe you can shine, believe you can soar.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did I sing?\u201d he asked one recent school day to grade-schooler who saw him on the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t stop believing!\u201d the student said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The students\u2019 voices rose in Daniel Stallworth\u2019s classroom. \u201cI need to hear you louder than the piano,\u201d he said as they sang \u201cAin\u2019t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,\u201d trying to master the notes. \u201cI need to hear all of your voice,\u201d he told them. \u201cReady? Sing!\u201d It was another day at work for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2303545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2303544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/MS-native-Daniel-Stallworth-advances-on-American-Idol-EntertainmentLife.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2303544","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2303544"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2303544\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2303546,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2303544\/revisions\/2303546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2303545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2303544"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2303544"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2303544"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}