The judges were... Simon, Randy...
Kara... and Avril Lavigne.
I walked through the doors... and...
was "side-stage", about to stand on that floor
where you sing your song.
sorry...I didn't do my hair today
I kept singing, and got to the big part...
and I... and they stopped me, and I said: "Ok". And...
I discovered my love of music
when it had the biggest impact on me,
and I think that was in the sixth grade. I went to...
to a camp with my church and...
and the music... it was just a guy and a guitar
but he played really well and beautifully, and...
it was a worship song, and I had my first like music plus... God...
really powerful moment.
I was like: "Wow!" Like: "This is... this is powerful".
So, that was when music really impacted me.
And then... God kind of...
took me on a bit of a journey where...
I was able to use music to impact other people,
and it started with... just leading worship at my church.
And then it got more... serious,
when I sang at church for an Easter service,
and, after the service was over,
this man came up to me and he was like...
Oh, he looked like he'd just gone out of a gang.
He was walking towards me and I got a little nervous...
and he started crying, and he just said:
"That song that you sing...
"like the Spirit moved my heart
when you sang that song".
And I was like: "Ok, God,
"this is, this is something special. This is something powerful
and I want to be a part of it".
One day... I came downstairs...
The application and the map, and everything out on the kitchen table...
The American Idol auditions are at this time,
at this place, on this day. We are going.
I was like: "Alright, let's do it".
I get excited.
There's a few months between the first audition,
when you see that huge arena full of people,
and that moment on the screen
when you see the contestants in front of the celebrity panel.
That whole process was covered in prayer...
by my family, by family friends...
and I really believe it was that prayer
that gave me the strength to be as bold as I was during that whole process.
I was very open about my faith.
Very... just excited to share that.
I'm saving my first kiss until...
the day I get married. Just things like that.
And in the end... when I...
made it through those few months of auditions
and I... and I got to the celebrity panel, those where the things that they criticized.
They complemented my voice, complemented...
my look, and...
then started saying things like:
"So we see on... on your bio here that...
you've never kissed anybody".
They said: "We see here that you teach a girls' Bible study and... tell us about that".
And I'm like: "Yeah, I teach a girls' Bible study on my public school campus
and it's amazing. I love it".
And... then the comments came.
"You are trying to be too perfect. I think you need to go out into the World
and make some mistakes and get some life experience, and come back".
"You need to go out and kiss somebody and that...
that'll make you feel sexier, and then come back".
After hearing that I was like: "Alright, God.
Your will be done". And...
I walked out of the room.
That's when Ryan Seacrest had the camera on me...
"How did they say no?" And all that stuff, and...
part of me wanted to say...
"Well, what the heck?" I was fighting the tears...
and then this small part of me ultimately said:
"God has opened up the doors up until this point,
but now He's closed them.
And I'm not going to question any of this because I know that He has a greater plan".
And... by God's strength I was able to say that.
In my mind and my heart I was just like: "God...
why did you take me through these months of auditioning
when I could have been studying for finals and enjoying prom?"
But... there was a reason, there was a purpose.
And I found out exactly what that purpose was
the moment I exited the building
and a man came chasing after me and said: "Hey!
I heard what you said on camera about God, and...
and I'm a believer, and...
I heard you singing through the doors, and I really want you to meet somebody".
Really, from the time that I...
had stepped out of the auditioning room...
to... going down an elevator,
to exiting the building...
was the amount of time that it took for God...
to... open the next door and do a complete miracle.
Since then...
I... have signed with a label,
I signed with the manager, and...
I'm engaged to Joel.
It's 100 years old, from the 1920s.
I don't know what a karat means, but...
apparently it's a big karat too.
Sounds good to me.
I am saving...
the first kiss until...
the wedding day.
It's so much more difficult than I thought it was going to be.
But... I...
think that I should carry through and follow through
what God showed me. I'm just glad that I found...
a man who would not only accept the standards that I've...
had, but want to create new ones with me.
My fiancé has been... so supportive and so...
wonderful in...
knowing this is what God has called us to do.
[A few months later Moriah married Joel.]
[And they finally shared that first kiss.]
So I just say: "My name is Moriah Peters and I am Second"?
>> That's it. >> That's it?
>> That's it. >> Ok.
My name is Moriah Peters and I am Second.
[I AM SECOND]