Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jayson Garner performs during the sing-off on American Idol’s Hollywood Week Monday night. (ABC Photo)

The American Idol judges weren’t joking, were they?

They had difficult decisions to make during Hollywood Weeks. After all, the show was going from 127 golden ticket recipients to a Top 30 based on one performance.

And some very talented artists did not make the Top 30.

Below, some of those singers react to their Idol ousters.

Truth be told, there were very talented singers who made the Top 30, including Khloe Grace, Julianne Post, Jayson Garner and Mor, all of whom were featured in audition episodes.

Truth be told, there were lots of lots of other talented artists who breezed through the auditions to Hollywood Week and barely got any airtime at all. And I’m talking about artists who have already released very fine music.

I’ve included one of the most impressive of those artists — Seth Witcher — below. I’d also encourage fans of the show to check out the music of the brother-sister duo Dorsten (Sophie made it to Hollywood) and the music of Eva Luna Smith. I’ve put links to all my Season 24 profiles below.

On with the reactions:

Julianna Post: Of all the contestants we saw eliminated on Monday’s show, none disappointed me more than Julianne. She’s a young female singer-songwriter with a distinctive voice and three very, very fine singles out. They include “Die While I’m Dancing,” the original she sang in Hollywood and apparently impressed me much more than the judges. Writes Julianne: “What an incredible adventure! Even though I didn’t make the cut tonight, I’m overwhelmingly grateful for all the people who gave me a chance and supported my journey.”

Julianne Post performs an original song during Hollywood Week on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

Jayson Garner: He wound up just shy of the Top 30 when Michael Garner won the sing-off on Monday’s show. But he immediately announced that he plans to follow up his appearance on Idol with new original music. For those unaware, he already has an EP out. Writes Jayson: “I’m so thankful to God for this opportunity to share mymusic and my Savior Jesus. Thank you, American Idol.”

Mor (Ilderton): The singer-songwriter from West Virginia opted to do another original in Hollywood without the show’s backing band. He knew it was a risk; Carrie Underwood confirmed as much. And he was eliminated when the 60 singers sent to the golden room got whittled down to a Top 30. The song he performed — “How to Love You” — is already out. So is “Strong,” his original audition song. In fact, both have more than 200,000 streams on Spotify. “This journey started a long time ago, so thank you for being here now,” he wrote in a message to fans.

Khloe Grace: Just 15 when she auditioned, Khloe was featured on the season premiere singing her original “Forever 13,” a tribute to a 13-year-old who committed suicide because of bullying. The song had 500,000 streams on Spotify prior to her Idol appearance. It now has nearly 1.3 million. She posted a lengthy video thanking Idol for the experience and even suggesting she might be back on the show one day. “I’ve made such great memories and I learned a lot and I’ve met some of the most amazing people along the way. I was the youngest contestant on the show and it is really hard to be on a national television show at such a young way.” Keeping checking for new Khloe music. She just posted video from a photoshoot for a new single called “Does She Remind You of Me.”

Seth Witcher: When I researched Seth and listened to his excellent original music, I thought, “Wow, he could do very well on Idol.” Instead, he was barely seen. Writes Seth on Instagram: “Part of me has been dreading talkin aobut this because it’s not fun being told ‘no’ in front of everyone. But at the same time, I’m really thankful to the show and the team for such an amazing experience.” Seth is heading out on tour this spring and plans to release an album this year. If you haven’ checked out his original music, you should.

Khloe Grace performs during Hollywood Week on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

CONTESTANT PROFILES

Trace Casanova
Trew the Star
Uzziah Hutchinson
Vincent Fondale
Vyann