During that Vegas audition, which aired Wednesday night (July 17), Brown sang a moving version of Keith Whitley's song "When You Say Nothing At All." And once again, he earned enough praise for his performance to move on again�this time to New York's Radio City Music Hall.

As with the widespread acclaim for his first audition (where he covered Bob Dylan's "Make You Feel My Love"), Brown attributes his newfound notoriety entirely to his wife Shellie, who is responsible for his appearance on the show (she tricked him into appearing�though he didn't seem to mind one bit).

As he tells the TV audience, if Shellie hadn't "kidnapped" him and driven him to that initial audition, "I wouldn't be here in Vegas right now. I'd probably be laying a tile floor with my buddy."