UPDATE: Sam Woolf moves to top 30 on 'American Idol'

As he continued his journey on national television, on the Feb. 12 airing of "American Idol," East County resident Sam Woolf won over the judges, again.

Starting next week, viewers will have the chance to vote to keep Woolf on the show, rather than judges choosing which contestants stay and who packs their bags.

A performance of his original song "I Try," accompanied by his guitar, for judges Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr., won the Braden River High senior a spot in the top 30. The teen's ballad comes with a story, one which expresses his feelings of his mother moving away a few years ago.

Moved by his performance, Lopez mentioned, with tears in her eyes, that the 2014 "American Idol" could be the 17-year-old.

Continue watching Woolf's journey on "American Idol," Feb. 19, when he performs as one of the top 15 men of season 13.

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected].