{"id":241773,"date":"2021-03-22T17:31:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-22T22:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=241773"},"modified":"2021-03-19T22:38:08","modified_gmt":"2021-03-20T03:38:08","slug":"singer-cystic-fibrosis-golden-ticket-american-idol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/singer-cystic-fibrosis-golden-ticket-american-idol\/","title":{"rendered":"Singer with cystic fibrosis wins golden ticket to Hollywood on American Idol"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A 15-year-old girl recently got a golden ticket on American Idol, meaning she will advance to the Hollywood round of auditions. But what makes her stand out is that she also has cystic fibrosis (CF), and overcame many obstacles to win the hearts of the judges.<\/p>\n

Brianna Collichio is from Spencerport, New York, and performed Alessia Cara’s “Scars to Your Beautiful” for judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. But it was also a long road for her to get there. CF is a progressive illness affecting the lungs which causes infections, inflammation, and respiratory failure. People who have CF have typically lived into their 30s, although recent medical advancements are making a huge difference.<\/p>\n

For Collichio’s parents, realizing how talented she is was an emotional moment for them. When Collichio was still in elementary school, she began singing along to Celine Dion’s “O Holy Night” at Christmastime, as the family decorated their tree. \u201cI said, \u2018What in the world?\u2019 I started crying. I could not believe it. She blew me out of the water,” her mother, Colleen Collichio, told the Democrat & Chronicle<\/a>, explaining that she quickly reached out to a vocal coach, who was initially skeptical until he heard Collichio sing.<\/p>\n