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Entertain This!
With four people through to the Top 24 and 20 spots left in the competition, “American Idol” contestants are running on fumes.
In Monday night’s episode, the remaining 42 singers, sleep deprived from overnight rehearsals, paired up for the head-to-head round. It was sink-or-swim as the aspiring stars struggled to memorize lyrics, went on vocal rest to preserve their overworked vocal cords and — for some — adapted to singing with another person for the first time.
While some pairings both made it through to the next stage, other duos only had one successful contestant. In a few rough cases, neither singer earned a spot in Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan’s Top 24.
Jelly Roll returned to the show as the first-ever artist in residence to dispense advice and encouraging words from side stage. He even got a celebrity cameo for one lucky pair.
Here are the top moments from Episode 7.
Judges give a floundering Baylee Littrell another chance
Were we watching the same performance as the judges?
After a powerhouse delivery from Keilene (who has received almost no air time thus far) in the second of three “Shallow” performances tonight, the judges instead chose to focus on her stage partner, Baylee Littrell. Underwood said, “Baylee, you were more comfortable singing with somebody else. It’s like we got to see a different side to you.”
Uh, yeah. We saw that when he did a duet with his dad, the Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell, in the season premiere. It was true that he mostly sounded solid when complementing Keilene’s vocals, but alone? His voice understandably sounded tired and overused, and he couldn’t reach some notes while her Broadway-ready voice had the ability to pierce through Kevlar.
Richie had very fair feedback when he pondered whether the cover was on the verge of being “too powerful,” while Bryan insinuated that Keilene was too overwhelming in the closing notes. The country star also accurately pointed out Baylee was “timid” in his verses.
Despite Baylee’s roughest performance yet, it was Keilene who was shown the door. But Baylee was sent into the Top 24 with a warning from Underwood: “It was not a unanimous decision, so moving forward, I need you to step it up!”
Brandon Lake reacts to Breanna Nix and Rylie O’Neill’s cover of ‘Gratitude’
Breanna Nix and Rylie O’Neill, who’d bonded over being moms, paired up to cover a song by Christian worship singer Brandon Lake. Little did they know, the songwriter himself was listening to their performance.
After the women delivered their song, eyes gazing upward and arms reaching toward the heavens, Jelly Roll cut off the judges’ feedback to bring Lake in via FaceTime. “That was the most gorgeous version of ‘Gratitude’ I’ve ever heard,” he told Breanna and Rylie.
Underwood was emotional as she delivered her comments. “I know how difficult it is to come into the entertainment industry and bring your faith with you,” she told the singers.
“It is a brave thing to do because there are a lot of outside forces that are going to tell you not to do that. I want to tell you that I’m proud of you guys,” she added.
There was only one spot left in the Top 24, however, and the judges passed over Rylie to offer it to Breanna. The self-described 25-year-old “just a stay-at-home mom” sank to the floor crying with relief and happiness.
Who is in the ‘American Idol’ Top 24?
- Canaan James Hill
- Gabby Samone
- Zaylie Windsor
- Mattie Pruitt
- Thunderstorm Artis
- Drew Ryn
- Ché
- Grayson Torrence
- Penny Samar
- Josh King
- MKY
- Victor Solomon
- Amanda Barise
- Kyana Fenene
- Slater Nalley
- Baylee Littrell
- John Foster
- Filo
- Kolbi Jordan
- Isaiah Misailegalu
- Olivier Bergeron
- Desmond Roberts
- Jamal Roberts
- Breanna Nix
Who went home on ‘American Idol?’
Unfortunately, some of the less successful duets were cut for time, and not every one of the 22 eliminated contestants received acknowledgement. Here are the singers who didn’t make it into the Top 24.
- Sonny Tennet
- Yani
- Bryson Quick
- Lexi Tieffel
- Lashon
- Nina Daig
- Clara Rae
- Krystal Molina
- Cali Morris
- Crews Wright
- Kam’ron Smith
- Rylie O’Neill
- Riley Laenz
How to watch ‘American Idol’
“Idol” next airs its Top 24 performances from Disney’s Aulani Resort in Kapolei, Hawaii, on Sunday, April 13, at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT on ABC. The second half airs Monday, April 14, at 8 p.m. EDT/PDT.
Episodes are available to stream on Hulu the next day.
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