AMERICAN IDOL may not be the mega-hit that it was in its heyday when it was pumping out superstars like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, or Jennifer Hudson, but it still provides young talent the opportunity to enter into the living rooms of millions of viewers each week and rise in the ranks of stardom. One such young talent in 2015 was teen dream contestant, Daniel Seavey.

At just 15 years of age, Daniel was among Season 14's youngest contestants. His boyish good looks, sweet smile, positive attitude, and musical talent made him an instant crowd favorite. In Portland, OR, he was handed his “golden ticket” to join a mass of other hopefuls in Hollywood. Much to his family’s surprise, he made it through “Hollywood Week” and into the “Top 24” and begin performing before live audiences. His success kept rolling, until he found himself in the “Top 12” competing for America’s vote to become the next American Idol.

Wow—that’s a heavy title. American Idol. The dictionary defines the word idol as “an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship,” or “a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered.” How on earth was this young man supposed to handle the stress of being idolized—worshipped and revered—by millions. It’s a question his mother wondered, too.

Daniel’s mom, Keri Seavey, is mother to four children, is a pastor’s wife, women's ministry leader, biblical counselor, speaker, and writer who blogs regularly for the Biblical Counseling Coalition. She and her husband have raised Daniel in a Christian home and have been there for him each step of the journey to guide him on the precarious road to fame and fortune.

I am very proud of how he has been dealing with his overnight popularity. He's learning the value of not  "believing his own press" with respect to over-the-top praise or difficult-to-hear-read negative feedback. He is learning what it means to anchor his identity in who he already is in Christ, and not what people think of him or how they respond to him.  …

I pray that God's will would be done regarding how far we ride this crazy train! More importantly, I pray for Daniel's heart. My desire is that this experience with American Idol would be a means that God uses to help him understand and live in the reality of who he is in Christ. I pray that both the praise and criticism he receives would be light and inconsequential in comparison to the weightiness of the acceptance and love that he already has in Christ.

Season after season American Idol churns out incredible performances by Christian artists.  For those of us of faith, we can all identify with sitting on our couches, musing over the disproportionate number of Christian contenders.  Some are very low key about their faith, like Danny Gokey and Kris Allen.  Others are more open and up front.  Who can forget Mandisa’s run-in with Simon Cowell when he implied her overt spiritual references were “indulgent.”  She responded with Scripture and a godly example of forgiveness.  Simon had no choice but to receive the “grace” she was imparting and join her on stage for a hug, in front of an audience of tens of millions.

This season has already featured several contestants who have both covertly and overtly emanated a sense of spirituality.  Tonight’s closing act, brothers Aaron and Mark Gutierrez are members of a Christian vocal group, GB5, and openly profess faith in Christ, posting on their website the verse, “Choose you this day whom you will serve…  but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15) as a public statement of commitment.

Of even greater interest, though, is the revelation that a “huge” percentage of the Idol viewing audience are conservative Christians.  Richard Rushfield, in his new book, AMERICAN IDOL: THE UNTOLD STORY, says, “Whenever I brought the church up with producers, you get the sense that it's the last thing they want to talk about.”  But given the shows Christian audience, it’s impossible for the producers to stifle or minimize the impact of the Christian artists, their audience, and their message.

“A celebrity,” observed comedian Fred Allen, “is a person who works all his life to become well-known, then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognized.”