Fans of American Idol, the singing competition now in its 20th season, have a contestant to watch with Mennonite roots.
Skyler Maxey-Wert qualified to compete on the program after a successful audition that aired March 21 on the ABC television network.
A ballet dancer in Dresden, Germany, Maxey-Wert grew up at East Chestnut Street Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa. All three of the show’s judges — Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan — gave the yeses needed for him to move on to episodes recorded in Los Angeles.
Maxey-Wert’s mother, Heidi Beth Wert, said she’s thrilled for the exposure the show can offer her son and thankful she can finally talk about his involvement. The audition was taped in November in Nashville.
“My phone has blown up, I can’t believe it,” she said the day after the episode aired. “I looked at the YouTube channel Skyler is on and there were more than 197,000 hits [reaching more than 960,000 by March 28]. In my Facebook there are hundreds of comments.”
Singing has been a relatively recent focus for Maxey-Wert. His father is a mime and mother is a dance therapist. He began taking dance classes at the age of 5, left Lancaster at 13 to study dance in New York City and moved to Germany when he was 18 years old.
The congregation has supported each step of the way. When Maxey-Wert moved to New York City, church members would send food with his parents, who would bring coolers packed full of frozen food with crockpot instructions.
“The seniors of our church, the oldest Sunday school class, they said, ‘We have to see Skyler dance,’ ” Beth Wert said “So for one of his last recitals they hired a bus and went to New York City.
“Skyler had this fan base of little old Mennonites, and the ballet master must have said, ‘What is this?’ They’ve been so supportive all along.”
Maxey-Wert’s participation on American Idol follows the success of Girl Named Tom on NBC’s The Voice. The band of Mennonite siblings from Ohio won that show’s finale Dec. 14 and are now touring with plans to release an album.
“What is it with these Mennonite kids that have taken off?” Wert said. “We saw them in a backyard, and after they got so big, I said, ‘I don’t think we’re going to be able to watch them anymore on a blanket in the yard.’ ”
Episodes of American Idol air on Sundays and/or Mondays.
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