American Idol Contestant Reveals God’s Supernatural Deliverance From Crippling Fear

“It was actually one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” she said, noting she was “on the verge of a panic attack” as she prepared to sing for Katy Perry and the other show judges. “I kind of just went through the entire audition process, like in a full-blown panic attack.”

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Despite struggling, Tankard said she was elated to have made it through the triggering moment and was finally able to see herself on TV.

“To be able to actually get through the audition and make it to Hollywood was…one of my biggest accomplishments,” she said.

Despite that accomplishment, the fear didn’t go away and she continued to struggle even with basic social situations. Flashing forward to 2025, Tankard struggled with crippling fear even as she followed God toward the finish line on writing her book—until a friend said something that transformed her understanding.

“In November of 2025, I was kind of in a place in my life where I wanted to, quote, unquote ‘Get my life together,’ but not in a way of, I was like doing bad in life, but just in a way of walking in my calling and walking in my purpose,” Tankard said. “So I called up a friend and basically was trying to get advice on certain areas of my life.”

Tankard told this friend the reason she wasn’t doing some of what she wanted to do was because of fear—something she felt she simply couldn’t get rid of throughout her life.

“I actually ended up sharing with him that I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder when I was 17 years old,” she said. “And what he told me was that fear and anxiety is actually a spirit that comes from the enemy, and after I had that conversation with him, it kind of struck something in me.”

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Throughout her life, Tankard had assumed fear was merely mental and hadn’t spent much time pondering its potential spiritual elements. This was quite an interesting realization, as intense anxiety started when she was just 7 years old and expanded in subsequent years until she spoke with this friend and started to think a bit differently about it.

After Tankard’s friend discussed the spiritual nature of fear and anxiety, Tankard started talking to another Christian friend about these issues—and then something else happened. Ironically, that very night, Tankard’s church tackled the same issue during a service she attended.

“I ended up going to church that same night, and the pastor that was preaching that night ended up having like an altar call for some people that were dealing with crippling fear and anxiety,” she said.