24 talented American Idol hopefuls have earned an opportunity to sing for America’s votes throughout the remainder of Season 23.
During Sunday’s episode of American Idol (April 7), 62 contestants gathered at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles for the first round of Hollywood Week competition – the Showstopper. It was a chance for the singers to perform with a live band and prove that they could handle the pressure of competition in front of a crowd.
By the end of the night, four were chosen to automatically advance to the Top 24, 18 were eliminated, and 40 were told they would be singing again in head-to-head battles.
The 40 had 48 hours to pair up with another contestant and learn a song to sing together in hopes of earning a spot in the Top 24. As in years past, some duets launched singers to frontrunner status while others crumbled under the pressure.
Jelly Roll made his debut at this season’s artist-in-residence.
Country star Jelly Roll became a member of this season’s cast with the title of artist-in-residence. His role is to coach and mentor the singers throughout the rest of the competition.
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Prior to Monday’s episode, the “Save Me” singer told Entertainment Now that TV doesn’t capture the chaos that is Hollywood Week.
“I can’t wait for the world to see this,” he said. “The show brings me in when the kids are picking their head-to-head songs, so I am in the trenches with these babies. I watch them pick their songs. I give them advice, and I catch them picking their partners. Some of them probably picked the wrong partner.”
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Viewers saw it all unfold Monday night along with a lot of tears and a lot of celebrating.
One of the biggest surprises of the night came when two country music frontrunners, Kam’ron Smith and Crews Wright, were both eliminated after they collaborated for a performance of “How Great Thou Art.”
Among those who advanced to the Top 24 were Baylee Litrell, son of Backstreet Boys singer Brian Litrell, country singer John Foster, Platinum Ticket winner Filo, stay-at-home mom Breanna Nix, and the season’s youngest contestant Mattie Pruitt.
See the full list of American Idol Season 23’s Top 24 below.
Females
Amanda Barise
Kyana Fanene
Kolbi Jordan
Breanna Nix
Mattie Pruitt
Drew Ryn
Penny Samar
Gabby Samone
Grayson Torrence
Zaylie Windsor
Males
Thunderstorm Artis
Olivier Bergeron
Che Chesterman
Filo
John Foster
Canaan James Hill
Mikey Jimenez (MKY)
Josh King
Baylee Littrell
Isaiah “Makk” Misailegalu
Slater Nalley
Desmond Roberts
Jamal Roberts
Victor Solomon
What’s next for the Top 24?
The lucky two dozen traveled to Disney’s Alauni Resort in Hawaii where they will performed in front of a live audience. The Top 24 was split into two groups and were mentored by Ashanti and Josh Groban.
Viewers will get to watch those performances next week and will see the field of 24 cut to 20.