Betty Maxwell, who was Miss America in 2016, surprised everyone by auditioning for the 20th season of “American Idol” this week, and she managed to blow the judges away with her stirring rendition of Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take The Wheel.”
Congratulations and best of luck to Forever #MissAmerica, Betty Maxwell, as she advances to the next round of #AmericanIdol! pic.twitter.com/EKadugm4xl
— Miss America (@MissAmerica) March 7, 2022
Maxwell Auditions For ‘American Idol’
The Christian Post reported that Maxwell, a former Miss Georgia, brought her Miss America crown with her to her audition to bring her luck.
She initially auditioned with the Kelly Clarkson song “A Moment Like This,” but judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan responded by asking her to sing another song for them.
That’s when Maxwell performed an unbelievable acapella rendition of “Jesus Take The Wheel” that had the judges unanimously sent her on through to Hollywood!
Check out her audition for yourself in the video below.
Maxwell Gives ‘All The Glory To God’
After her audition aired, Maxwell took to Instagram to tell the world about her strong Christian faith that has led her to give “all the glory to God.”
“For the past 5 or 6 years I’ve dealt with imposter syndrome…I feel that I don’t deserve the blessings and success in my life,” Maxwell wrote alongside a photo of herself with her golden ticket to Hollywood. “I feel like I’m unworthy of the praise and the talents God gave me. I don’t know why…maybe part of it is just the pressure to always have something bigger and better on the horizon.”
Maxwell went on to say that despite her many successes, she’s always stayed humble because she sees herself as a “normal girl” from Georgia.
“I’m always so thankful because I don’t feel like I deserve it,” she wrote. “No matter what, I just focus on giving all the glory to God because without Him, I am nothing.”
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Maxwell Was Raised To Love God
Maxwell had previously opened up to Inspiration.org about how her parents raised her to love God.
“As a kid, my parents took us to church every Sunday,” she explained. “My faith was definitely something that my parents made predominant in my life and something that I was always made very aware of growing up and how important that is.”
However, it was not until Maxwell grew up that she decided to walk with God herself.
“I wanted a different relationship with God where I was the one putting in the effort every day to make sure that even in whatever career path I’m going down, that I’m using that to promote God’s Word and to do what God wants me to do in this life,” she said.
“People think that you have to be involved in something religious or some sort of ministry in order to live out God’s Word, but that’s not true,” Maxwell continued. “With the power of social media, no matter what your job is, no matter what career field you’re in, you have the opportunity and the power to promote your faith and to promote God’s love in this world.”
Related: Candace Cameron Bure Reveals How Being A ‘Woman Of Faith’ Got Her Through Pandemic
She Wants To Spread God’s Word
Ultimately, Maxwell wants to take any platform she’s given to spread the word of God.
“I take the opportunity whenever possible to put God’s Word out there in subtle ways that aren’t attacking people but in a way that hopefully helps others,” she concluded. “I hope if you see this on your social media, it brightens your day. I hope you needed to hear this or needed some comfort today, so I’m going to put that out there just in case. It’s up to us to choose that each day.”
We can’t wait to see how Maxwell does on “American Idol.” With God in her corner, she’s bound to go far!