Idol Chatter & Voice Views

I’ve already made it clear that I’m not a fan of this American Idol gimmick.

Nevertheless, 10 Top 20 finishers from Season 18 will return Monday night to compete for one spot in Season 19’s Top 10.

So it’s time to get reacquainted with American Idol’s “comeback kids.”

I’d note that the group doesn’t include two of my favorite Top 20 artists from Season 18. I’m talking about Jovin Webb, with his wonderfully distinct deep singing voice and his superb stage presence, and Kimmy Gabriela, whose combination of beauty, charisma and vocal ability equal pop princess potential.

Nor do the comeback kids include a country singer like Grace Leer, though the Season 19 cast could desperately use a country artist ready for Idol’s big stage rather than one who might be ready a couple of seasons and dozens upon dozens of performances from now.

The comeback kids do include this talented group: Aliana Jester, Arthur Gunn, Cyniah Elise, DeWayne Crocker Jr., Faith Becnel, Franklin Boone, Louis Knight, Makayla Phillips, Nick Merico and Olivia Ximines.

ALIANA JESTER

Age / Hometown: 19, Tampa, Fla. She’s a 2019 graduate of Fort Walton Beach High School.
Season 18 finish: Top 20
Memorable moment: Lionel Richie compared her to a young Whitney Houston following her audition performance of Michael Jackson’s “Who’s Loving You.” The last song she performed on the show was Whitney’s “Run to You.”
Season 19 comeback song: “I’ll Never Love Again” by Lady Gaga
Since Idol: Aliana hasn’t released music yet. She’s launched a Go Fund Me, hoping to raise $6,000 to launch her singing career.
Social media: Instagram. Twitter: @Aliana_Jester

ARTHUR GUNN

Age / Hometown: 22, Wichita, Kansas. He’s a native of Nepal and was born Dibesh Pokharel
Season 18 finish: Runner-up to Just Sam
Memorable moment: Videos of Arthur’s at-home performances were easily the most popular among Season 18 contestants on YouTube, generally racking up three times as many views as anyone else’s. For instance, his performance of John Denver’s “Country Roads” has been viewed 1.3 million times.
Season 19 comeback song: “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls
Since Idol: He’s been the most prolific of the comeback kids in producing new music, releasing a seven-song project called “Self Titled” as Arthur Gunna and an 11-song album called “Khoj” as Dibesh Pokharel.
Social media: Instagram Twitter: @ArthurGunn122

CYNIAH ELISE

Age / Hometown: 18, Atlanta, Ga. She performed her first solo at age 2 at the church where her mother was choral director.
Season 18 finish: Top 20
Memorable moment: She had already established herself as one of the Season 18’s biggest voices when she and Makayla Phillips got a standing ovation for their performance of “The Prayer” during duet night in Hollywood.
Season 19 comeback song: “Edge of Midnight” by Miley Cyrus and Stevie Nicks
Since Idol: Cyniah released her debut single, “Last Chance,” in October.
Social media: Instagram Twitter: @CyniahElise

DEWAYNE CROCKER JR.

Age / Hometown: 24, Pensacola, Fla. He’s a graduate of Pensacola State College and won the BET Sunday’s Best Race to the Stage competition in 2015.
Season 18 finish: Top 20
Memorable moment: Saying he wanted to deliver an upbeat moment, DeWayne tackled “Old Town Road” during the Hawaii showcase round. He called the performance the most fun I ever had.” The judges and the crowd loved it too.
Season 19 comeback song: “Voice of God” by Dante Bowe with Steffany Gretzinger and Chandler Moore
Since Idol: He collaborated with Franklin Boone and Jordan Jones on a cover of “Joy to the World” that was released in December.
Social media: Instagram. Twitter: @singdewayne

FAITH BECNEL

Age / Hometown: 21, Destrehan, La. Faith released her first CD at age 12 and was fronting her own band, Faith Becnel and the Music Krewe, when she auditioned.
Season 18 finish: Top 20
Memorable moment: Faith and Jovin Webb teamed up for a fabulous duet of “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World” during Hollywood Week. Faith said her favorite performance came when she covered “Ain’t Nobody” by Rufus & Chaka Khan in the Hawaii showcase round.
Season 19 comeback song: “Cry Baby” by Janis Joplin
Since Idol: Faith released her debut single, “Shh,” late last May. Then she teamed up with Season 18 champ Just Sam to release a cover of “The Christmas Song.”
Social media: Instagram Twitter: @faithbecnel

FRANKLIN BOONE

Age / Hometown: 28, Durham, N.C. He was worship leader at Restoration Church in Durham, N.C. and a music teacher at the School of Rock in Durham when he auditioned.
Season 18 finish: Top 20
Memorable moment: Franklin told Idol Chatter his favorite Idol moment was singing one of his favorite songs, John Mayer’s “I Don’t Trust Myself” during the genre challenge in Hollywood Week.
Season 19 comeback song: “Meant to Live” by Switchfoot
Since Idol: Franklin released a solo cover of “Joy to the World” as well as a collaboration of the song with fellow contestant DeWayne Crocker Jr. and Jordan Jones. He released nine singles between 2015 and 2019.
Social media: Instagram. Twitter: @FBooneMusic

LOUIS KNIGHT

Age / Hometown: 20, Philadelphia, Pa. He was born in London, but his family move to Philly when he was 10. He released “Small Victories,” his debut EP, in 2019.
Season 18 finish: Top 7
Memorable moment: Luke Bryan predicted Louis could become one of the biggest stars since Idol moved to ABC after Louis performed an original called “Change” for his audition. It’s a song he wrote about a friend committing suicide, hoping to prevent others from doing the same.
Season 19 comeback song: “Maybe That,” an original he released in March.
Since Idol: “Maybe That” is one of four original singles he released since Idol. The others are “Twisted Conversations,” “Save a Little Love” and “London.”
Social media: Instagram. Twitter: @louiskmusic

MAKAYLA PHILLIPS

Age / Hometown: 18, Temecula, Calif. At 15, she earned a golden buzzer on America’s Got Talent singing Demi Lovato’s “Warrior” and made it to the semifinals before being eliminated.
Season 18 finish: Top 11
Memorable moment: Makayla and Cyniah got that aforementioned standing ovation for their performance of “The Prayer” in Hollywood Week. And though she didn’t advance, she turned in one of the best performances on Top 11 night, relying on emotion rather than vocal frills when covering Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me.”
Season 19 comeback song: “Anyone” by Demi Lovato
Since Idol: Makayla released a soulful and sassy single called “Fool Like You” while Season 18 was underway, but hasn’t released original music since.
Social media: Instagram. Twitter: @MakaylaPhillips

NICK MERICO

Age / Hometown: 25, Woodland Hills, Calif. Nick had also auditioned for Season 17, but had to drop out due to family reasons after winning a golden ticket. In 2014 and 2015, he starred on the Nickelodeon show “Every Witch Way,” as the object of affection of two young witches.
Season 18 finish: Top 20
Memorable moment: Though he didn’t advance, he turned in a very solid performance on Top 20 night, switching up “Hey There, Delilah” by the Plain White T’s.
Season 19 comeback song: “City Lights,” an original
Since Idol: Released earlier this month, “City Lights” is one of three singles Nick has dropped since Idol. “Angel Eyes” and “Natural” are the other. He also released a handful of pre-show singles.
Social media: Instagram Twitter: @nickmerico

OLIVIA XIMINES

Age / Hometown: 17, Menifee, Calif. You might recall her as the young woman who showed up for her audition with the entire dance team from Orange Vista High School in California.
Season 18 finish: Top 20
Memorable moment: Olivia didn’t enter Season 18 with nearly as much performing experience as many of her colleagues. But you never would have known that judging from her Hawaii showcase performance of Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary.” Olivia even kicked over the mic stand as a song-ending exclamation point.
Season 19 comeback song: “Say Yes” by Michelle Williams with Beyonce and Kelly Rowland
Since Idol: Olivia hasn’t yet released music, before or after her Idol appearance.
Social media: Instagram. Twitter: @oliviaximiness