CoolSculptingNear Bamberg, SC

“American Idol” showed off its new stage in Hollywood on Sunday night to celebrate the 21st season of the show.

It’s the same space where “I Love Lucy” and “Golden Girls” were filmed.

And it’s where two South Carolina residents continue their Idol dream. Viewers voted Mariah Faith of Conway and Warren Peay of Bamberg into the Top 20.

Six contestants did not make it to the next round. On Monday, the top 12 will be revealed — 10 selected based on viewers’ votes and the judges will select two others.

Host Ryan Seacrest announced 33 million votes were received after last week’s shows and the videos of performances had gotten almost 1 billion views.

In the video before he performed, Peay, an appliance repairman, was shown gardening, saying how much he loves digging in the soil and nurturing plants. He also talked about a time in his life when he struggled with alcohol but once he began working at his church he was able to overcome it.

He said he wanted to dedicate his singing career to Jesus Christ.

He sang a Zach Williams song, “Up Here Down Here.”

Judge Lionel Richie said he knows if you let go and let God, everything falls into place. He called Peay’s performance “beautiful.”

Judge Katy Perry teased him, saying he looked like he had a hair dryer blow out on his long beard. Once again, he wore his signature cowboy hat, which he revealed last week had a photo of his girlfriend tucked in the lining for good luck.

“I’m glad God sent you to us,” she said.

Judge Luke Bryan said the song choice was “world class.”

“Stay you, and America will speak,” he said.

Mariah Faith, a hairdresser, was shown in her home, which is in the backyard of her mother’s four-acre property. Her grandparents, who were in the audience, live two minutes away.

She said her mother doesn’t want her to leave and she doesn’t want to, either.

She sang “Cry to Me.” by Solomon Burke.

Once again, Bryan talked about her soulful country sound. Last week he called her voice a “bluesy, soulful, raspy thing.”

Richie said she had taken an old song and made it new, while Perry compared her to Bonnie Raitt.

The contest continues Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC.

This story was originally published April 24, 2023, 8:54 AM.

BAMBERG, S.C. (WJBF)– “He’s anointed, and when he sings, you can feel it. I don’t care if he’s singing ABC,123 or if he’s singing Jesus Loves Me, you’re going to feel it,” said Pastor Shawn Hanks of Colston Baptist Church.

Family and friends say it’s by God’s grace that a singer like Warren Peay has made it this far in the American Idol competition.

Peay is a Bamberg native, who is hoping to make his way to the top 7 as a contestant.

Those who know him say his love for music goes back years.

His pastor Shawn Hanks says he’s come a long way during this journey.

“He had an itch to do this several years ago. I talked with him, and I really honestly didn’t feel like he was ready. Then, when he got contacted by American Idol to do this, I knew, then, God was ready him,” said Pastor Hanks.

Peay auditioned for American Idol back in March, and he says he hopes to be an inspiration to the world on and off the stage.

“I like to be able to mesh everything together in order to create my own unique sound, to have lyrics that are meaningful, and to have a personality and morals that are meaningful that would line up with my faith,” said Warren Peay.

“I mean, he’s no put on. He’s no fake. I’ve been around music a lot in my little bit of time on this earth, and I’ve traveled and sang with a group. I’ve been around big groups, and a lot of people don’t live what they’re singing about. Warren does that,” said Hanks.

Hanks also says that no matter how far Peay goes in the competition, the experience for both him and his family was well worth it.

“So if the top 10 is where it ends, we’re giving God praise. If he goes to the top eight and he keeps going, whatever God has in store, he’s gone a whole lot farther than anyone ever thought he would in the first place. We know he would, but the world will see him,” said Hanks.

Peay has now made it to the Top 8 of American Idol.

BAMBERG, S.C. (WCIV) — We're getting an inside look at Nikki Haley's childhood and what it was like growing up in Bamberg. ABC News 4 took a trip up to her hometown to learn more about her roots and find out why people are excited about her presidential bid.

If you ask people how they'd describe Bamberg, they'd call it "a small, quaint town." It's the town that shaped Nikki Haley.

“She’s very proud of being from Bamberg and a small town, and I think that’s a testament to who she is and how she grew up," says high school classmate Michael Delaney.

Haley's parents ran a local business just off Main Street.

“I mainly knew her mom and daddy better, because they run a shop up here that used to be called Exotica. That’s how I met them, I used to go in there sometimes," says Ursula Price, a longtime Bamberg resident. "Her mom and dad were real nice.”

Haley worked for her parents while in school. She went to high school at Orangeburg Prep. It's where Delaney first met her.

“I remember her being super friendly, and everybody really liked her. Just remember going to the store and seeing her there working with her parents," he says.

Delaney says Haley wasn't exactly voted "Most Likely to be President."

“Back in high school with 1,000 students, or 1,100 students, it’s a little bit more, not lost in the crowd, but she wasn’t one of the big faces that she is today," he explains.

Delaney says he still sees the same Nikki from all those years ago.

"I’d run into her from time to time around the state, and she was always so down to earth, never really changed who she was as a person.”

Her climb in politics is one that shattered stereotypes.

“She didn’t let them Buffalo her. She stood up for what she thought," Price says.

“It was like, 'hey, I went to school with her,' and then suddenly she’s running for governor, and she’s the first female governor of South Carolina and ambassador to the UN, and you’re like, 'wow. It's pretty special,'" says Delaney.

Both say they're looking forward to Haley's campaign and watching her represent Bamberg on the biggest stage.

“I think we need something different, and I think she’s the one to do it," says Price.

“We need strong leaders, and I think if she thinks she’s that person, then certainly her track record proves that she can be," Delaney says. “I think it’s a super special story that you can be from a small town, and if you work hard, you stand up for your constituents at every level that you go through, and really sky’s the limit now."

BAMBERG, S.C. —

UPDATE - Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024:

The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF-2 tornado with 125 mph winds is responsible for the major damage left behind in Bamberg, South Carolina, after Tuesday's storms.

The NWS also confirmed an EF-1 tornado hit Catawba County, North Carolina.

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What South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers are calling a tornado brought down buildings and powerlines and caused other significant damage Tuesday in Bamberg.

Watch video above taken Tuesday night.

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The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning before 3 p.m. for Orangeburg, Bamberg and St. Matthews until 3:15 p.m.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Tornado Warning including Orangeburg SC, Bamberg SC and Saint Matthews SC until 3:15 PM EST pic.twitter.com/dMWwffBUSN

— NWS Columbia (@NWSColumbia) January 9, 2024

Lance Cpl. Brittney Glover posted photos of the damage on social media after the storm blew through Bamberg. That's about 60 miles north of Beaufort and 45 miles east of Aiken.

One showed tons of debris under a water tower.

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Another showed a warehouse near what appeared to be the same water tower severely damaged.

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A photo Glover said was taken on the city's Main Street showed bricks and rubble in the road from damaged buildings.

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Another photo showed a tree snapped and downed trees and power lines around it.

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"If you’re out on the roadways today, please stay safe," Glover said. "A tornado just landed in Bamberg County."

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The National Weather Service will dispatch a team to the area to evaluate the damage and issue a report on the likely tornado.

To stay update on all breaking news and more, download the WYFF News 4 app. Apple | Google Play

BAMBERG, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Bamberg lost important pieces of its history when a tornado swept through town Tuesday.

It appears the old Bamberg City Hall may have been destroyed.

On Wednesday, crews were assessing the damage from Tuesday’s powerful storm. We know at least four downtown buildings and several local businesses have been damaged.

MORE FROM NEWS 12:

Mayor Nancy Foster says the downtown buildings are more than 100 years old

“It’s been bad,” she said. “It’s just heartbreaking. All this started back to 2:30, I believe, and, and I’m getting calls that the buildings downtown are falling in the street.”

The community of 3,500 is left to pick up the heart of the city.

“Downtown’s my passion. Those buildings were from the late 1800s to the early 1900s. So, I just hate to see them go. And I’m not sure we can salvage those three buildings,” said Foster.

Officials said three different power companies were working to turn the lights back on.

Foster says crews are having to make entirely new power poles. She says it’s going to take some time before things get back to normal.

“It’s a lot of debris, a lot of turned up, a lot of trees down. And I think we did have some, I don’t know, how many houses we had that there’s damage,” said Foster.

But the impact goes beyond downtown as the city is now trying to recover from this major storm.

“It really wasn’t that bad when we left the house. But as soon as we came through, this red light, undoubtedly, that tornado was right behind us. Maybe 10 seconds when we cleared the red light. You couldn’t see the Piggly Wiggly. It was completely black,” said resident Buzzy Bunch.

The last tornado hit the outskirts of the county back in 2022, but the damage was nothing like this.

Piggly Wiggly cashier Sarah Smith said: “I have never experienced a tornado being that close to me. You know, my room window. And I heard the rolling noise. Oh, man. I was scared.”

She tried to take shelter, but it all happened so fast.

“When I looked down, the tree had fallen and it fell on the power line and my side yard and power went out. It was completely dark. So right about this moment in time without power, I don’t have any heat, or anything of that nature,” she said.

Smith’s house wasn’t damaged too badly, but others weren’t so lucky.

“You had this eerie feeling. You couldn’t see. But you can see, you could feel it. And it was crazy,” said Bunch.

His wife’s shop was destroyed.

“We’ll dive in and see what we can do, what we can salvage. I know, one side of her shop is, I can already tell this is 10 feet deep and breaks the other side. Possibly there’s something we can make salvage out of,” said Bunch.

Now they are trying to figure out what to do next.

“We’ve had some hurricanes come through. Not quite as bad for the downtown area. But Bamberg family, everybody. Everybody loves everybody. We pitch in. If a neighbor’s got a tree down, there’s neighbors right there to clean it up. You know, so I’m just blessed to be in a small town that loves everybody and pitch in and help out,” he said.

Former South Carolina Gov. and presidential candidate Nikki Haley took to Twitter when she heard about what happened to Bamberg.

She wrote, “My heart breaks hearing about the storm damage in my sweet hometown. The people are tough and resilient. I know with love and prayer they will rebuild stronger than they were before.”

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