Family and friends of American Idol contestant Fritz Hager gathered at The Foundry Coffee House on Sunday for his watch party where he won a golden ticket to move onto Hollywood.

A Tyler security guard is headed to Hollywood after receiving a golden ticket following his audition on “American Idol.”

Fritz Hager III, 21, sang “Before You Go” by Lewis Capaldi for the American Idol panel of judges including Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.

Following his audition, Perry said she enjoyed the performance and voted yes for Hager to move.

“The chorus was pretty good,” said Perry during the show. “You have a lot of potential.”

Richie agreed saying the chorus was very strong and also gave Hager a nod sending him to Hollywood with the two “yes” votes.

Hager held a watch party at Foundry Coffee House in Tyler for the airing of the audition where he played a short set prior to watching the episode with family and friends.

Hager, who has played at the coffee shop before, said it was the perfect place to hold the watch party.

“The Foundry occupies a very unique space downtown. When it popped up, it became the prime music venue downtown and I immediately gravitated toward it,” he said. “I remember playing open mics in the listening room with one or two people listening, and now that all the idol craziness is happening, it feels good to fill up the room.”

Hager said playing in front of music legends made him extremely nervous.

“It was so nerve racking! I am usually able to control my nerves, but after a long day of waiting and preparing, it all just hit me out of the blue,” he said. “I mean the judges are bonafide legends, so it was wild, but I’m very proud of the audition.”

Hager said his experience thus far has been one of growth and new friendships.

“I’ve gotten to meet so many amazing people. There’s something so special about being in the same room with people that all have the same passion, and getting to jam with them was incredible,” Hager said. “It has also given me the opportunity to grow as a person and as an artist, which is something I’ll take with me for the rest of my life.”

Hager said the journey has also made him more self confident.

“I’ve learned to be more confident in myself. I’m a very reserved person usually, and when I perform I truly bare my soul, so criticism can be hard to take,” he said. “And after years of my music career not gaining traction, all the ‘no’s’, it started to wear on me. But this process really helped me recognize my own self worth.”

Hager went on to say it has all been a dream come true.

“I’ve been a fan of the show for so long, so seeing what it’s like behind the scenes has been so fun. And obviously getting to meet Katy, Lionel and Luke is a dream come true,” he said. “Really all of it, from the beginning, to now going to ; it’s all been a dream come true.”

Hager also got a surprise shout out from his own idol.

Hager has been a huge fan of Phillip Phillips ever since the singer won American Idol season 12. “As a kid, I was really inspired by Phillip Phillips, who was on the show 10 years ago actually,” he said. “I love his sound, the way he played guitar. He inspired me to play guitar, and I always wanted to sort of be where he was.”

Ahead of Hager’s audition, Phillip sent the contestant a good luck video message. “Do what you do. Have fun. Let’s rock it,” he told Hager.

Fritz has dropped a couple of singles ahead of his American Idol debut. His songs “All My Friends” and “Maybe I Think I Love You” are available now.