Daniel Stallworth recently cracked the top 20 of “American Idol” and now hopes to advance come Monday. While his rise on the hit singing competition has been well documented, his musical roots trace back to when he was just two years old.
The 27-year-old Moss Point native said in a recent interview with SuperTalk Mississippi News that his mother first noticed his knack for rhythm as a toddler, when he would join her in the kitchen and start “beating on pots and pans.” After a few years of the impromptu performances, she decided to take him to a music teacher in nearby Pascagoula.
“I was two years old, and I was beating on pots and pans when I was little. A couple of years went by, maybe four or five, and my mom was like, ‘Okay, he keeps beating on pans. He’s been doing it for years, so we need to see what’s going on,’” Stallworth explained. “She sent me to this guy who taught music in Pascagoula to see if I could really play or if I was just beating around.”
The teacher initially told Stallworth’s mother he did not take students younger than seven, but she convinced him to just listen and determine whether it was talent or a bad habit.
“I went in, and the guy came back out and asked her when we wanted to start lessons,” Stallworth said with a laugh.
Stallworth said he’s not sure whether his mother saw real talent or was simply tired of the constant clanging in her kitchen.
“I think it was a little bit of both,” he added with another laugh.
Now an elementary music teacher outside of Houston, Texas, Stallworth said he’s grateful his mother pushed him to pursue lessons and strives to pass that same passion on to his own students.
“I teach my students that music is in everything. Music is a universal language,” he said. “We can’t do life without music. When we walk, we’re walking in rhythm. We’re talking in rhythm. We’re clapping in rhythm. Everything that we do involves it. Like the old saying goes, music makes the world go round. Music is part of me. It’s just who I am.”
During his most recent performance, Stallworth took a leap by singing Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long.” Performing the hit in Hawaii – in front of Richie himself, now in his eighth season as a judge – was intentional.
“I’ve been watching Lionel Richie ever since I was a kid and so that song right there has been one of my jams for years,” he said. “Being that we were on the beach, I felt like that was the best song for me at the time.”
Afterward, Richie commended Stallworth for making the song his own, while fellow judge Luke Bryan said Stallworth “might be the best singer in the competition.”
Stallworth will find out if he advances to the top 14 when “American Idol” resumes Monday at 8/7c on ABC. Episodes are available to stream the next day on Hulu.
