‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond and Breakout ‘American Idol’ Star Phil Kane: You Won’t Believe How They Are Connected

American Idol viewers were thrilled by the performance of Phil Kane, a young contestant who wowed judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. However, he has a hidden celebrity connection with Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond. Theirs is a heartwarming story. Here are the details.

Ree Drummond is one of the Food Network’s most recognizable personalities

For the past 12 years, Ree Drummond has become one of the Food Network’s most beloved and recognizable personalities. As the star of The Pioneer Woman, she’s taken a homespun approach to cooking, sharing her family, friends, and special recipes with viewers.

Her simple blog, where she documented ranch life in Oklahoma, grew from where she shared her thoughts on parenting, homeschooling, and cooking to an empire. Today, Drummond is not only a Food Network mainstay but also the owner and operator of The Mercantile, Charlie’s Sweet Shop, P-Town Pizza, and The Boarding House.

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Drummond was asked about The Pioneer Woman and how it has impacted her small town of Pawhuska, OK. “Oh gosh, I just feel such pride for Pawhuska,” The Pioneer Woman star explained. “It’s not really about me and my businesses as much as just the community, the amazing people here.”

These fantastic people include Phil Kane, who Drummond has watched grow up. How are he and The Pioneer Woman star connected?

Ree is best friends with Phil Kane’s mother, Cyndi

Cyndi Kane is known to Pioneer Woman fans as Ree Drummond’s best friend, Hyacinth. She and her family have appeared for years on the Food Network series. Viewers have watched Kane grow-up on camera as he palled around with Drummond’s sons Bryce and Todd.

Eagle-eyed American Idol and Pioneer Woman fans recognized Cyndi as she celebrated her son’s golden ticket to Hollywood on the series’ March 26 installment. Kane performed a song titled “Osage County,” an homage to his hometown.

In an interview before his performance, Kane said he is a student attending Belmont University for songwriting. He joked to series host Ryan Seacrest that he writes songs about “roads and girls.”

Subsequently, his song paid homage to what Drummond said she loved about her small town, including Friday night football games and gravel roads. Katy Perry said Kane was “authentic,” while Luke Bryan called him the “country Jackson Browne.” Lionel Richie told Kane he “ticked all the boxes” and was “brilliant.”

At the end of the video, mom Cyndi asked if her “little songbird” was coming out. She wrapped her arms around him when she realized he had a golden ticket in his hand to move on to the next round in Hollywood.

For years, Phil Kane and his family have appeared on Ree Drummond’s ‘The Pioneer Woman’ series

The Kane family appeared on The Pioneer Woman for years. Cyndi and her clan have appeared in episodes where they swapped kids and celebrated holidays with the Drummond clan. They met when Drummond moved to her husband Ladd‘s ranch in 1996.

“Hyacinth and I became BFFs as adults,” Ree said, according to Closer Weekly. “We both married ranching families in Osage County, Oklahoma. My first friend was Hyacinth when I married and moved to the middle of nowhere.”

“Our children are fifth-generation friends,” she said. “We found out that not only were our in-laws the best of friends, but their parents and the generation before that, so it’s almost like Hyacinth and I were pre-destined to be best friends.”

In fact, Drummond thanked Hyacinth in the acknowledgment section of her first book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl. She said her pal “lost so much sleep over whether I’d meet my cookbook deadline that she came to my house once a week and forced me to cook until I was finished. I love type-A friends. I love you, Hyacinth.”

The Pioneer Woman airs new episodes Saturdays at 10 a.m. EST on the Food Network. American Idol airs Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.