Songwriter Auditions After Losing Mom To Cancer

Brandon Elder is an amazing songwriter who has an even more incredible story. Brandon is from Birmingham, Alabama with such an inspirational story and from a very early age, his biological mother was not able to take care of him. That's when she traded Brandon to a family for a car. But that family was not able to take care of him either and decided to put him up for adoption.

Thankfully, Brandon was adopted by a wonderful woman named Patricia. She wanted to make sure that she could give Brandon the normal childhood that he deserved, even if that meant working multiple jobs. She did such a good job of taking care of him, but when Brandon was about fourteen years old, Patricia was diagnosed with breast cancer. Her breast cancer went into remission for about two years, but it ended up coming back. It was a difficult battle and doctors said that there was nothing that they can do. During that time, Brandon would sing to her to encourage her. And that is when he decided to pursue a career in music because his mom loved to hear him sing so much.

Unfortunately, Patricia had lost her battle with cancer, but Brandon decided to continue singing to honor his mother’s memory. And that is what led him to American Idol. For his audition, Brandon sang an original song that he wrote all about his mother. Brandon’s songwriting skills and the raspy-ness of his voice caught the attention of all three of the judges.

Fortunately, Brandon’s hard work paid off because all three judges gave him a huge, "Yes!" This is just the beginning of Brandon's journey as a musician. The best part is that Brandon believes that no matter what happens, his mother will be watching over him.