Willie Spence has been singing for almost as long as he can remember. His journey began around the age of four when he began singing at his grandfather’s church. Willie attended Coffee High school and initially his experience there wasn’t much different than other students. An experience at Coffee High school, however, would mark a turning point in Willie’s path to budding fame. Willie was 18 years old when a friend filmed him singing Rihanna’s “Diamonds” while sitting in their high school sports hall. The cover went viral after ending up on YouTube and launched the beginning of a large social media following for Willie that includes over 534,0000 subscribers on YouTube.

For his American Idol audition, Willie sang “Diamonds” by Rihanna. During Hollywood week, Willie solidified his status as a frontrunner when he performed “All of Me” by John Legend for the genre challenge. After the performance, Judge Lionel Richie said, “"Your career is right there for you, I don’t want to waste any more time,” and judges advanced him through to the next round. For the Duets round, Willie was paired with fellow contestant Kya Monee and the pair performed “Stay” by Rihanna.
The performance brought judge Katy Perry to tears and Judge Lionel Richie said, “That performance was divine, That was an experience,”