‘You’re a Young Elvis Presley’: Lookalike wows American Idol judges

American Idol is back for another year and a fresh batch of hopefuls are vying to the chance to become the next big thing in music.

One contestant who captured the attention of star judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan is 17-year-old Laine Hardy. Originally from Livingston in Louisiana, Laine auditioned for the show at the New Orleans auditions.

The judges fell in love with Laine’s twangy American accent, before pointing out that he looks remarkably like a young Elvis Presley. Fans watching at home also noticed the similarities, flooding social media with how much they believed the aspiring singer resembled the “King of Rock”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og8aezNneAU

“This young man is the best so far,” one fan Tweeted. “Write his name down. He loves and lives music. Hope he sings Elvis.”

Another viewer on Facebook wrote: “Laine Hardy. My favorite on American Idol so far. Love love his voice. Funny, John said he reminded him of a young Elvis, and then the judges said the same thing,” while another comment read: “Laine does look like a young Elvis!”

Read more: Elvis doco sheds new light on his illustrious career and home life

.@lainehardy_ young Elvis Presley #americanidol pic.twitter.com/VypDU8XnJ8

— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) March 13, 2018

#AmericanIdol
Katy got it right, he looks like a young Elvis

— mermaid ( formerly TRUMP FOR PRISON ) (@pbmermaid) March 13, 2018

https://twitter.com/libbyannehess/status/973400945156485120

During his audition, Laine said his favourite pastime besides singing was driving around his town, before telling the judges he had seen so many alligators in his lifetime that he couldn’t keep track of them. He eventually wowed the judges with his own rendition of ‘Hurricane’ by the Band of Heathens, earning a Golden Ticket to Hollywood and making it through to the next round of the competition. He still has a long way to go before making the Top Ten and potentially winning this year’s season of the singing show.

In addition to his striking resemblance to Elvis, it appears Laine is also influenced by the late singer. Sharing a video on YouTube, the teenager sang ‘Blue Suede Shoes’, proving he not only looks like Elvis, but sings like him as well.

“Elvis is who inspired me so I decided to do one of his songs,” he said. Fans will need to wait to see how far Laine goes in American Idol, but his original audition has already been viewed 12 million times on Facebook and more than half a million times on YouTube.

American Idol airs on FOX 8 in Australia and on ABC in America.

What do you think? Could Laine really be the next Elvis Presley?