\t<\/p>\n
Luke Colombo performs on \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d during Hollywood Week in November. (Photo provided by Mark Colombo)<\/p>\n
PARKERSBURG \u2013 Luke Colombo said music is his passion, but the 17-year-old Parkersburg resident \u201cnever thought in a thousand years\u201d he would have a following on social media \u2013 or end up on \u201cAmerican Idol.\u201d<\/p>\n
After months of interviews and auditions, Colombo earned a spot on \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d season 24 when he was 16 years old. <\/p>\n
He returned from \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d production in Nashville last fall with a golden ticket handed to him by country music star Carrie Underwood after his performance. <\/p>\n
Before standing on the stage during Hollywood Week performing in front of 1,500 people, Colombo\u2019s journey began when he would sing at 4 years old. <\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I always had a joy for music but it wasn\u2019t until around COVID time \u2026 when I started thinking the guitar would be something cool to learn,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com\/www.newsandsentinel.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04223120\/03-05-26-Colombo-1-tle-472x840.jpg\")
<\/div>\nLuke Colombo takes a photo with former \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d star Slater Nalley during the first auditions in October in Nashville.
\n(Photo provided by Mark Colombo)<\/p>\n
Colombo said he was taught to play the piano but never enjoyed \u201cbeing taught\u201d how to do something and felt he learned better on his own. <\/p>\n
He said music had always been a significant part of his life with his parents, Jaime and Mark, listening to all kinds of sounds. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe still walks around the house singing and playing 24 hours a day,\u201d Jaime Colombo said. \u201cEven when I go to sleep I can hear him in the basement singing and playing his guitar.\u201d <\/p>\n
Colombo described a specific moment when he picked up a guitar in the boy\u2019s locker room after football practice at Parkersburg High School and his friends encouraged him to play. <\/p>\n
\u201cI started playing and suddenly the whole room was filled and the whole team were waving their phone flashlights in the air like it was a concert,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com\/www.newsandsentinel.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04223124\/03-05-26-Colombo-2-tle-630x840.jpg\")
<\/div>\nChristian Brown, Trew the Star and Luke Colombo, front, hold their \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d golden tickets during the October auditions in Nashville. (Photo provided by Mark Colombo)<\/p>\n
He said he never would\u2019ve pursued music further if it hadn\u2019t been for that moment performing in front of people besides his parents and younger sister. <\/p>\n
After that, he started posting his videos on TikTok and gained nearly 50,000 followers in less than a year. <\/p>\n
After posting consistently for about a year, Colombo said the producers for \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d reached out to him last spring and asked if he wanted to audition. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe woke me up at 3 a.m. and said, \u2018Mom, \u2018American Idol\u2019 just contacted me,’\u201d his mother said. <\/p>\n
Colombo said he knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and he didn\u2019t want to miss it. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com\/www.newsandsentinel.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04223132\/03-05-26-Colombo-4-tle-630x840.jpg\")
<\/div>\nLuke Colombo holds his guitar and \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d golden ticket after returning from auditions at the end of last year. (Photo provided by Mark Colombo)<\/p>\n
\u201cI did interviews with them all throughout the summer, and there were a bunch of steps I had to do,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Colombo said he put football and wrestling to the side to focus on this opportunity. He said he felt blessed to be selected and for them to see who he was as a person. <\/p>\n
\u201cEverything has been moving so fast right now, and it\u2019s really weird being 17 in high school,\u201d he said. \u201cI posted a video one night during the summer, and Zach Bryan commented on it.\u201d <\/p>\n
Colombo said being given that opportunity was really scary at first, especially because he didn\u2019t know if music was something he wanted to fully pursue. <\/p>\n
At the time of the show\u2019s recording, Colombo wasn\u2019t allowed to tell people that he was on the show, what the outcomes were or about any behind-the-scenes action. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com\/www.newsandsentinel.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04223136\/03-05-26-Colombo-5-tle.jpg\")
<\/div>\nLuke Colombo waits for his \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d audition in October in Nashville. (Photo provided by Mark Colombo)<\/p>\n
Colombo said there were many contestants who all came from different backgrounds and experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard all different kinds of music, and everybody had their own story, and everybody had their own reason why music was there for them and why they were there that day,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was an awesome experience.\u201d <\/p>\n
Colombo performed in front of judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie, who listened and watched his performance during the first round in Nashville. He said they gave him the golden ticket and he moved on in the show before being cut during Hollywood Week. <\/p>\n
He said he wasn\u2019t upset he was cut because it made him want to pursue music even more and see how far he could go. <\/p>\n
Colombo had never performed on a stage, just in front of friends and family and for his online audience. <\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ogden_images.s3.amazonaws.com\/www.newsandsentinel.com\/images\/2026\/03\/04223140\/03-05-26-Colombo-6-tle-584x840.jpg\")
<\/div>\nLuke Colombo practices before his \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d audition in Nashville in the fall of 2025. (Photo provided by Mark Colombo)<\/p>\n
\u201cYou walk out on this stage, and it\u2019s this massive theater with celebrity judges and there\u2019s 360 cameras all around you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou never know what door God\u2019s going to put in front of you, so you better be ready to walk through it.\u201d <\/p>\n
He said the judges complimented him for making his cover of a Lewis Capaldi song \u201ca Luke Colombo song.\u201d<\/p>\n
Colombo said he was nervous before the performance but as soon as he stepped out to sing he felt completely calm and knew he was in the right place. Colombo said he was blessed to have made it to where he did.<\/p>\n
Ever since the season started airing, more doors have continued to open up. He said he performs live at local venues and at places like Wings, Etc., Flannagan\u2019s and the Polo Club. <\/p>\n
He has plans to perform locally at larger venues and events over the summer. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got so many things spinning in my head, and I\u2019m thinking about every little thing, but then when I stop thinking about everything and just think about the music it really works,\u201d said Colombo. <\/p>\n
He said he\u2019s written enough original songs to create two full albums and he wants to start recording.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times, when I write a song it\u2019s just because I feel like I need to,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t push out a good song, it just comes to you.\u201d <\/p>\n
Colombo said he\u2019s always been a poetic person and he gains a lot of his inspiration from his family and experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll stay up to write a song because it just takes me over and it just feels right once I get it out,\u201d said Colombo.<\/p>\n
Colombo\u2019s TikTok presence, live performances and appearances on \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d have gained a lot of traction. He said people had asked him for photos at a Zach Bryan concert. <\/p>\n
When Colombo isn\u2019t writing music or singing, he\u2019s spending time working on his car.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would be nice to end up making it big time for thousands of people \u2026 but more than anything else, it\u2019s a passion, and I\u2019m going to stay true to it and I\u2019m going to keep writing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
He said he loves to play around his hometown and the only reason he\u2019d ever want to \u201cmake it big\u201d would be so he could help his mom retire early. <\/p>\n
\u201cI owe it to everybody that\u2019s ever believed in me,\u201d said Colombo. <\/p>\n
Colombo will be performing live March 8 at the Robinson Grand Performing Center in Clarksburg. <\/p>\n
Follow Colombo on TikTok @c2lukemusic <\/p>\n