Ashley Hess auditions on “American Idol”; ABC/Nicole RivelliAmerican Idol continued its auditions Sunday night with a batch of contestants that included a familiar face from last season, a pretty new face that has one of the judges smitten, and a former dental hygienist who may just win the whole thing.
Here’s the breakdown:
The familiar face
The sauce is back! Remember Alyssa Raghu? She was an early favorite during last season’s audition process but didn’t make it past the top 24. Now the 16-year-old has returned and she’s been working on her stage presence. The year of practice has done wonders for her confidence. “I’m Alyssa Raghu and I’m a pop star,” she tells judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie. They’re sold. She once again gets a chance at Hollywood.
The standouts
Ashley Hess. Remember that name because with any luck, she’ll be going far in this competition. The 27-year-old former dental hygienist blew the judges away with her rendition of Norah Jones’ “Don’t Know Why” on the piano. They were so blown away that they all got up from the judges table to crowd around the piano and watch her perform up close. “I think you could win this whole thing,” Katy predicted.
Gaba, a 19-year-old from L.A., brings her mom and her egg donor to her audition. She sings Adele’s “All I Ask” and hits every note of the difficult torch ballad. Then, at the judges’ request, she sings a duet with her egg donor, from whom she inherited her singing talent. She gets through to Hollywood with her unconventional support system by her side.
Evelyn Cormier, a married 19-year-old, mesmerizes the judges with her utterly unique singing voice. “Literally one of my favorite voices I’ve ever heard in my life,” Katy boldly states. She gets three yeses.
The judges also couldn’t stop gushing over Jacob Moran, a 24-year-old nurse who serenades the patients in the nursing home where he works. He sings “Into You” by Ariana Grande and Luke compares him to Rascal Flatts’ frontman Gary LeVox. Katy calls him the “best voice we’ve heard in all of Kentucky.”
The robot (?)
Sixteen-year-old Peach Martine almost seemed a little too polished and rehearsed to be real, prompting Katy to ask, “Are you a robot?” Her rendition of “Zombie” by the Cranberries doesn’t do much to convince Katy otherwise, but once Peach sat at the piano to sing her own original song, we saw a glimpse of something a little less robotic. She still got a “no” from Katy, but she’s going to Hollywood anyway.
The crush-worthy
Luke was completely smitten by Katie Belle, a 19-year-old from Atlanta with model-good looks. She has a sweet singing voice but, perhaps superficially, it’s also her pretty face that gets her the golden ticket. When she shakes Luke hand to thank him, he pretends to pass out. Even Katy Perry was crushin’. As the contestant leaves, we hear Katy softly singing, “I kissed a girl and I liked it…”
American Idol’s most improved
Jessica Whitely, a 26-year-old bartender from Ohio and one of Katy’s biggest fans, previously auditioned for the show seven years ago. The judges pull up a clip of her old audition and it was…disastrous. Her new audition still isn’t great but it’s so much better than her first audition that the judges dub her Idol’s “most improved.” It’s not enough for a golden ticket, though.
The tearjerker
Of course, Idol leaves the most emotional moment of the night for last. Lauren Engle is a 27-year-old who lost her husband in a car accident a year ago. With her brother-in-law as her guitar accompaniment, she sings an original song called “Compass,” written about her late husband. The judges are overwhelmed with emotion and tell a tearful Lauren she made her husband proud. She’s going to Hollywood.
The rest
Colby Swift is a 19-year-old who uses humor to cover the pain of being abandoned by his mom at age 10. His singing needs work but Luke says, “I don’t know if a kid has ever walked in here and been more me at 19.” He makes it through.
Dalton Elliott, a 26-year-old dad, wins over the judges with his ability to tell a story through singing.
Mize Well, a beatboxer, doesn’t make it through because, well, he doesn’t sing.
American Idol returns Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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