Why Is American Idol Winner Laine Hardy on The Bachelorette?
Laine Hardy will make his debut on The Bachelorette, but it wont be as a suitor. The 20-year-old country music singer, who won American Idol in 2019, will perform his romantic single Memorize You during a one-on-one date on Katie Thurstons season of the ABC dating show, per The Associated Press. An excited Hardy first shared the news on social media, as can be seen below, with a photo of a pair of fishing boots with a red rose leaning on it. Im so excited to let yall know Ill be on @BacheloretteABC next Monday, July 5 to play #MemorizeYou! Yall make plans to tune in at 8/7c on @ABCNetwork. Ha! @BachelorNation https://t.co/Xhr6mhh0or#TheBachelorette pic.twitter.com/4vJHStCleT  Laine Hardy (@TheLaineHardy) June 29, 2021  Memorize You is a single on Laines new album, On the River, which was released in June, per Amazon Music Unlimited. Hardys History on Idol Is Complicated  Hardy is no stranger to ABC. The young singer first competed on the networks singing competition American Idol in 2018 when he was a 17-year-old high school senior, according to Good Housekeeping. While he wowed Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan during his audition. Hardy didnt make it to eth Top 50 due to his lack of experience and low confidence. The following season, Hardy turned up to support his pal Ashton Gill on guitar during her American Idol audition, but it spawned a comeback for him on the show. Hardy was granted an impromptu audition of his own which went very well. The judges were impressed by his maturity and newfound confidence and he was given a Golden Ticket to Hollywood alongside his friend. Hardy ultimately won the 17th season of American Idol.  Hardy is Not the First Country Music Star to Perform On The Bachelorette  Hardys Idol win scored him a high-profile gig on The Bachelorette just in time to promote his new album. Hes also not the first country star to perform on the rose-filled reality franchise. Last summer, country music singer Adam Hambrick performed a private concert for Bachelorette Tayshia Adams and one of her dates. Hambrick later told theClick Bait with Bachelor Nation podcast that he had a blast even though he was nervous. Ive never been on TV before, so I was nervous, he told Adams on the podcast. Your date was my TV debut. It was special for a lot of reasons. Its the biggest opportunity Ive had since starting the artist track of my career.  In addition, country singer Chase Rice turned up on Peter Webers season of The Bachelor to sing for Weber and his date, Victoria Fuller. But things got awkward when Fuller revealed once dated the county star. Rice later told the Fitz in the Morning radio show that he was really pissed off to find his past connection with Fuller used as a storyline on the ABC dating show. The singer revealed that he spent one night with Fuller and that she was a cool chick, but was blindsided by the way The Bachelor producers handled their history. I was pretty surprised, he said, noting that when he found out Fuller was contestants on the show his manager assured him it was just a coincidence.  I was just going on there to try to promote Lonely If You Are and Eyes on You, and I wanted absolutely nothing  if theres anything I ever wanted, its to have nothing to do with the drama of that show, Rice said. READ NEXT: Who Is Blake Moynes on The Bachelorette?