19-year-old Adam Sanders recently auditioned for the new 'American Idol' panel and revealed his admiration for songstress Mariah Carey.

Speaking in front of the judges, Sanders explained that he looks up to Carey because of the soul in her voice and got rather emotional during his speech:

"I'd like to keep the soul thing, I'd like to bring back what they had, what Mariah has."

"You have that thing inside of you, you've got that real soul. Thank you so much," he added tearfully.

He then launched into an impressive rendition of Etta James' 'I'd Rather Go Blind' and wowed Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban and Carey, who all gave him a pass to progress on to the next stage of the competition.

Watch his full audition here: