Who is Delaney Renee Wilson on American Idol? Babysitter went viral after her boss shared video of her singing

This year will mark the 20th year of music reality competition American Idol. As Season 20 is a few hours away from premiering, viewers can expect it to be grander than ever. Talented singers from different parts of the country will be auditioned for three rounds in Nashville, Austin, and Los Angeles beginning with the season premiere on Sunday at 8:00 pm ET/PT on ABC.

With Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Katy Perry returning as judges, the show is also introducing a platinum ticket that will make the journey easier for some contestants.

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Who is Delaney Renee Wilson from American Idol Season 20?

Hailing from Massachusetts, babysitter Delaney Renee Wilson went viral when her boss took a video of her singing and shared it on TikTok in 2021.

Her boss Nicki Maher recently shared Delaney's journey to American Idol in an Instagram post:

"Here’s WHY: On June 21, 2021, I (secretly) filmed a video of our babysitter, Delaney, singing Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid) to my daughter. That same day, with her permission, I posted the video to @tiktok . To me, it was as simple as “the world needs to hear what I just heard” and let’s put it this way, THE WORLD SPOKE!!!"

She continued:

"Over 16 MILLION people have watched this Tiktok video, over 3M have liked it, over 100,000 have commented on it— and this is all on ONE single TIKTOK (not counting all of the shares, other platforms and third party accounts who posted it)."

Wilson's video was acknowledged by many industry leaders like Jodi Benson, Scott Braun, and Paula Abdul. The biggest surprise was when she received a call from Adam Davis, the producer of American Idol Season 20.

In a recent interview, the 19-year-old revealed that her dad is a musician. After being rejected by seven music schools, she was finally accepted to her dream college, Berklee College of Music.

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What is the platinum ticket in American Idol Season 20?

Season 20 of the show has introduced platinum tickets as a major addition to its format. The ticket comes with immense advantage, explained by judge Katy Perry in an interview with the Television Critics Association (TCA) Winter Press Tour panel:

“This ticket gives them the ability to go to Hollywood Week, which we’ve already filmed and was so rigorous and survival of the fittest, and they get to basically observe from the box seats at the theater — one day, they get to rest their voice, strategize, check out the competition and select who they want to duet with."

American Idol Season 20 airs on ABC every Sunday at 8:00 pm Eastern Time (ET). For more information, check local listings.