“Idol” Star John Foster Pays Tribute To Keith Whitley With Stunning Cover Of “Don’t Close Your Eyes”
American Idol runner-up John Foster put his own spin on a Keith Whitley classic.
Back in May, Foster finished in second place during season 23 of the singing competition. From his very first audition, the teen caught the attention of country fans who felt he had something special.
He started off by singing Alan Jackson’s “Don’t Rock the Jukebox,” but when judge Luke Bryan wasn’t completely convinced, Foster switched things up with Conway Twitty’s “Goodbye Time.” That performance earned him a “yes” from all three judges, sending him straight to Hollywood.
From there, he became one of the most talked-about contestants of the season. When Foster reached the Top 20, his performance of an original song he wrote called “Tell That Angel I Love Her” even went viral. The emotional song was written in memory of two of his friends who were killed in a car accident.
During the season finale, Foster, Jamal Roberts, and Breanna Nix were the final three contestants. When the results were announced, Nix placed third, Foster came in second, and Roberts was crowned the winner.
Since then, things haven’t slowed down for Foster. He’s accomplished a lot in a short time, including making his Grand Ole Opry debut back in June.
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But even with a busy schedule full of shows and appearances, he still stays true to what first got him noticed, which is honoring the legends who paved the way for future country stars.
A lot of the time, the 19-year-old will share covers of country classics whenever he can. Most recently, he took on Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes.”
Watch John Foster’s Cover Of “Don’t Close Your Eyes”
On Wednesday, October 22, Foster shared the video on his Instagram. In it, he’s sitting in a dressing room playing an acoustic guitar while singing. Two of his bandmates join him for backup.
“Excuse the video quality, but I figured it’s been long enough since I posted a good ole country gold cover,” he captioned the clip.
Fans couldn’t get enough of Foster’s rendition. They flooded the video’s comment section with sweet messages such as:
“John this is my absolute favorite Keith Whitley song! You do it so well! I’ll be listening to it over and over again! Thank you for putting it out for all your fans!“
“God had blessed you with such a beautiful gift!”
“John I love your beautiful voice. All your songs are so beautiful and you sure bring back natural pure and real country music again.. Always keep on keeping it country music and keep on shining.”
Watch John Foster’s cover of Keith Whitley’s “Don’t Close Your Eyes” below.
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