Former Minnesota Vikings WR Blake Proehl stuns American Idol judges

AFI | American Football | 02/20/2024

When American Idol kicked off the 2024 season, the judges were taken totally by surprise when former NFL wide receiver Blake Proehl sat down at the piano to sing.

The 24 year old Proehl wowed judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan with his rendition of Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know”.

It was definitely an amazing start to a singing career after Proehl ended his promising NFL career with a severe knee injury, a torn ACL. He had been drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2021 NFL Draft and spent three seasons with the team. Football definitely runs in his family as his father, Ricky played in the league for 17 years, and won two Super Bowls, with the St. Louis Rams and Indianapolis Colts. His brother, Austin, also played in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills and a number of teams, and most recently with the New York Giants in 2022.

It was while he was recovering from his injury that Proehl started getting more into music. Encouraged by his grandmother he decided to pursue music more seriously and finally took the leap to try out for American Idol.

Kate Perry gave the ex-NFL player high praise for his audition saying he has the potential to make it into the top 10 should he agree to be coached by the three of them. Bryan also praised Proehl, calling his audition “believable,” “innocent” and “vulnerable,” while Richie called his performance “natural.”