Baylee Littrell Opens up on Tough ‘American Idol’ Experience: “It Was Hard To Make Friends”

Growing up as the son of Backstreet Boys member Brian Littrell, Baylee Littrell hoped to forge his own musical path on American Idol. Sadly, the 22-year-old budding singer’s bid for the season 23 title came to an end earlier this week. He did not garner enough votes to advance to the show’s Top 14. During a recent interview with Us Weekly, Littrell opened up on the pressures he faced during his time on Idol.

Baylee Littrell Admits It Was “Tough” on ‘American Idol’

Aside from the stress of live performances, Baylee Littrell also battled loneliness while competing on American Idol. The “Hey Jesus” singer-songwriter says it was difficult to overcome people’s assumptions of him.

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“It was hard to make friends, and it was hard for people to understand me because a lot of people, they did have preconceived notions of how I would be,” he said. “And that’s one of the emotional parts of leaving is finally people get to see who you are. And finally we kind of set our differences aside or our assumptions of each other and all just started to bond.”

Continuing, he said, “When I left I was like, ‘Man, I’m just now starting to know everybody and it’s so great,’ but it was tough at first. I was kind of alone. I didn’t have any friends.”

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Fortunately, Littrell eventually formed a bond with fellow contestant Olivier Bergeron, who was also sent packing at the Top 14.

“He’s pretty much my best friend now… we’ll be buddies for life,” he said.

[RELATED: “The New Generation of Backstreet Boys”: Watch Brian Littrell Audition for ‘American Idol’ Alongside His Pop Star Father]

Would He Have Done Anything Differently?

Hindsight is 20/20, and Baylee Littrell has a few things he would change about his American Idol experience.

“To tell you the truth, I would’ve loved to have gone in there with just more spunk, just being less scared and having a little bit more confidence in myself,” he said. “And it’s hard when you’re in those situations with lack of sleep or not making a whole lot of friends or camaraderie or there’s just the pressures of the world on you. But there’s those moments where I was like, ‘Man, I wish I would’ve done this or that.’”

There’s one thing he still wouldn’t do, however: perform a Backstreet Boys song.

“I think my whole purpose on the show was to get out of the monopolization, even though it was constantly thrown in my face and it was just more about being my own artist, my own person,” Littrell said

Featured image by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images