Who Is 'American Idol' Singer Oliver Steele? He Has Auditioned for the Show Before

Season 21 of American Idol is still in its earlier stages, but some contestants have already emerged as potential frontrunners for the season. One of those frontrunners is singer Oliver Steele.

He has actually tried to get on the show before. Now that Oliver's audition has made its way to the judges, though, many fans wanted to learn more about him and where he comes from.

Oliver Steele is the very last first-round audition that the judges hear during Season 21, and we already know that Oliver makes it to Hollywood. Given his vocal prowess, though, it seems possible that Oliver could make it a lot further into the competition.

Oliver is currently 24 years old, and he gets his love of music from his father, who's professional blues guitarist Toby Steele.

Oliver is originally from Mount Juliet, Tenn., but now lives and performs in Nashville. He frequently posts covers and other musical material on Instagram and also has an official partnership with Breedlove.

Oliver has auditioned for American Idol several times before, but Season 21 was the first time he ever made it in front of the show's judges.

During his audition, Oliver explained that his dad had a stroke which had severely limited his mobility on his left side. "He's part of the reason I want to do this, is for him," Oliver explained as part of his audition package.

"He's the reason I'm here," Oliver added.

Then, Lionel Richie asked Oliver to bring his father into the audition room, and Oliver sang Eric Clapton's "Change the World" to his dad.

The judges eventually joined in, singing along, and Oliver also left all three of them in tears. Clearly, the story Oliver told about he and his father's connection to music had a powerful impact on the entire panel, and easily secured him a ticket to Hollywood. Now that he's through to the next round, many have him pegged as a potential winner for this season of the competition.

In the comments under the video of his audition, fans expressed both their amazement at Oliver's voice and at how deeply his story touched them.

"Man, I couldn't stop crying. The audition was just SO beautiful from the minute his father was brought in unto the end. Oliver has a phenomenal, soulful voice. I can definitely see him making it to the finals. He's somebody to watch," one person wrote in the comments.

"He's probably my top 5. You can tell he loves his dad and he has the voice to back the character. All the growl and emotion and grit too, man... I love it! He had me in tears by the end," another person added.

Clearly, Oliver is on plenty of people's radars following that stunning audition, but it remains to be seen exactly how far he might make it in the competition as it unfolds.