Carlton Smith was working security for West Virginia University when the singer failed to show up.
When a singer failed to show up for her performance of the national anthem at a game between West Virginia University and Kansas, police officer Carlton Smith jumped in.
His knockout performance stunned the crowd.
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The scheduled singer, Leslie Dorchester, got stuck in traffic during a really bad snowstorm pounding West Virginia on Tuesday.
"I was so devastated," she told INSIDE EDITION. "I tried so hard to get there. I actually parked my car and tried to run in the snow and ice."
But somebody remembered Carlton Smith, a former contestant on American Idol, was in the house, working security.
"They were like: 'Hey, we need a favor. Can you sing the anthem?' I said, 'how long do I have?' They said 'about five minutes,'" Smith told INSIDE EDITION.
Although being a cop is his day job, singing is his passion. He got a ticket to Hollywood after auditioning for American Idol in 2014.
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"Any chance I get to do the national anthem is always a big deal to me. I was just basically hoping I didn't mess it up too much," he said.
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