Hampton Bays’ Christiaan Padavan Makes Good On ‘American Idol’

When he was 12-years-old, Hampton Bays resident Christiaan Padavan won the “People’s Choice” category of Southampton Youth Bureau’s Hamptons Idol competition.

On March 18, Mr. Padavan, now 20, appeared on the real thing—“American Idol” on ABC—where he auditioned for celebrity judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan.

For his audition, Mr. Padavan sang “Vienna” by that other Long Island native son, Billy Joel, and in the end the judges rewarded him with a coveted golden ticket—a fast pass to Hollywood and the next round of the show.

Mr. Padavan watched the March 18 episode on television with family, friends and girlfriend Victoria Zaccardi at the Hampton Bays Knights of Columbus Hall. In a recent interview, the young singer shared what it felt like to face the judges for the first time during the audition.

“When you walk in there, they look perfect,” he recalled. “You feel like you’re walking into a wax museum and it felt like a dream. I didn’t know what to expect. They were just very kind people and that was really relaxing.”

Though he’s admittedly a big fan of Katie Perry’s music, Mr. Padavan was particularly excited to meet Lionel Richie.

“I grew up on Motown, so that was definitely insane,” said Mr. Padavan. “He talked about being buddies with Smokey Robinson and my jaw dropped.”

Getting to the point where you can chat casually with musical legends on “American Idol” is a big deal and Mr. Padavan explained that prior to appearing before the celebrity judges there are numerous pre-rounds contestants must go through. He should know. He has been auditioning for the show’s producers and executive producers since he was 12.

“I did an audition in Florida last year and they recognized me. The executive producer gave me a ‘maybe.’ I did all the paperwork,” said Mr. Padavan. “Then I was playing a gig in Manhattan and my mom called and said they wanted to see me again, this time in Manhattan. I auditioned again and this time they sent me to the celebrity judges.”

Mr. Padavan may be new to “American Idol” audiences, but he is a well-known performer on the East End. He cut his teeth locally by acting and singing in Christmas musicals as a student at Our Lady of the Hamptons Regional Catholic School in Southampton. He also appeared in numerous productions with Stages Children’s Theatre Workshop and, as a senior at Hampton Bays High School, won a Teeny Award for his portrayal of Gomez Adams in the musical “The Addams Family.”

But in terms of his singing career, that grew out of his job as a bus boy at 1 North Steak House in Hampton Bays where he worked throughout high school.

“On Saturday nights, they’d let me sing,” said Mr. Padavan, noting that the exposure soon led to gigs singing at weddings and other area establishments like Rumba, Cowfish and the Dune Deck Beach Club.

Though Mr. Padavan enrolled in the musical theater program at Five Towns College after high school, he realized it wasn’t for him. After another semester at Suffolk County Community College, he decided to put all his energy into his musical career and work. He is currently a marketing assistant at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center and an intern at WBEA 101-7 The Beach radio in Water Mill.

Though Mr. Padavan plays the baritone ukulele (and is planning to learn guitar), it’s primarily as an accompaniment to his voice which he considers to be his primary instrument. Last year, he and his band “Away for the Day” won the iHeartRadio and Dunkin’ Donuts Cold Brew Jams Contest along with a prize of $10,000 worth of studio time.

While Mr. Padavan can’t reveal what happened on “American Idol” once he got to Hollywood (you’ll just have to tune in to ABC as the season progresses to find out), he did share what it felt like to hear that he was going on to the next level after all those years of trying.

“I was all shaken up. I didn’t say anything, but my girlfriend made a noise,” said Mr. Padavan. “It was absolutely nuts. I remember being three years old and watching Idol wanting to be Clay Aiken.

“Now someone out there can be the next Christiaan Padavan … It was insane.”

You can hear Mr. Padavan’s music on Spotify, Apple Music and at Cowfish in Hampton Bays where he will appear live on Friday, March 29 from 6 to 9 p.m.