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Filo Ebid, a 23-year-old singer and actor from Dublin, secured his spot among the top 14 contestants on the 23rd season of “American Idol” this week.
Ebid joined the leaderboard thanks to his performance of Adele’s “Skyfall” on Sunday, which earned him enough public votes to progress in the singing competition.
“So grateful for this journey, everyone who’s voted, and all the love and support — from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU,” Ebid wrote in an Instagram post of his experience thus far.
Prior to Ebid’s ongoing success on “American Idol”, the Dougherty Valley High School alum earned a master’s of music, contemporary performance from the Berklee College of Music in Valencia, Spain. He also holds a bachelor’s of music in vocal performance from the University of the Pacific.
“From his formative days in his native Egypt, he has always been fascinated by the beauty of human connection through music,” his website states.
As a tenor, he has explored a variety of musical genres including classical opera, Mediterranean music, pop and R&B, according to his website.
Ebid’s skill has brought him across the country where he has won national competitions.
One such award was granted to the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music for its production of “The Threepenny Opera” in 2022 which included Ebid among the performers. The production won first place in its division of the National Opera Association’s annual Opera Production Competition.
Adding onto his resume, Ebid also released an original single in March called “Find My Intention.”
Just days later he made his first appearance on “American Idol”, when he garnered a standing applause from judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan and Carrie Underwood.
In the episode that aired March 16, he took on Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness” with fist-curling power and bounding vocal runs.
As Ebid belted the tune, his mom cried outside the audition room. “I’m scared for him,” she is quoted as saying in subtitles.
As he closed the song, the judges offered their applause.
“Yes, sir. Yes, indeed,” Richie said. “We’ve been waiting for you. What took you so long to get here?”
“Born to sing,” Bryan added. Ebid will make it to the top 20, if not the top 10 of the performers, he predicted.
It is yet to be seen whether the local talent makes it as far as Bryan envisioned.
New episodes of the show air at 5 p.m. every Sunday and Monday on ABC and Hulu.
