Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Athena Jett and her young sister Angelina embrace after their teamwork earned a golden ticket on American Idol. (ABC Photo)

American Idol introduced us to a dozen more Hollywood-bound singers as the Season 22 auditions continued Sunday night.

One will be making her third attempt at Idol this spring. One made the show with a big assist from her younger sister.

Two more artists earned spots on the show singing original songs. And one of the singers we saw, Anna Grace, remains a bit of a mystery because we saw so little of her performance.

Here’s a recap, with Idol Chatter’s picks for the night’s top performances.

The auditions conclude next Sunday night. Then it’s off to Hollywood for the Season 22 hopefuls.

BEST OF THE NIGHT

Quintavious, 21, Franklin, Tenn., “Alabaster Box” by CeCe Winans: He’s a vocal coach and worship leader, according to Idol’s bio bar. And he impresses with his voice and passion in a heartbeat. You can hear the worship leader in this performance. Hey, Quintavious has excellent range too. That was simply a standout vocal. The judges gave him a standing ovation. Lionel called his performance “inspiring” and loved the way Quintavious seemed to “feel every note.” Katy called his performance “a whole baptism for everyone.” Don’t be too surprised. Quintavious made the finals of another TV talent show as a young teen. Learn more about his musical background here.

RUNNERS-UP

Elleigh Marie, 20, American Fork, Utah, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt: A cosmetologist by trade, Elleigh gets emotional while talking about her dad. He’s in the Air Force, was gone quite a bit while she was growing up and is about to be deployed again. That emotion might have worked to her advantage because she poured it into a vocally impressive performance, featuring an absolutely lovely tone, the ability to emote and the ability to soar. Just open your eyes when you sing, Elleigh. Katy called it great. Luke said he thinks she’s Top 10 with “beautiful things” in her voice. He said he “loved” the audition. Lionel called her audition “angelic.” Learn more about Elleigh here. She already has more than 250,000 followers on TikTok.

Deida Jeudy, 16, Tavares, Fla., “River” by Leon Bridges: She just turned 16 before her audition and has three brothers who are visually impaired and she has helped watch over. She also sings to them. Once her audition begins, she displays a big voice and an impressive tone. And gets a standing ovation from the judges. Lionel calls her a natural. Luke loves the cry in her voice. And Katy calls her voice timeless. Wow, there are some great female vocalists on Season 22.

ALSO MADE THE SHOW

Athena Jett, 20, Las Vegas, Nevada, “Somebody New” by Sophia James and “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman: Athena is a jazz singer and you can here those influences — and her nerves — on her first song. Katy seems uncertain about putting her through, at which point Athena’s younger sister Angelina suggests she sing “Never Enough.” Athena’s voice soars on the second song. The sibling support has Katy in tears. Katy said the second song turned a hard “no” into a “phenomenal” vocal. She got yeses from the other two judges as well. They gave Angelina the ticket to present to her big sister. That was one of the most touching moments on Idol so far in Season 22. Athena just started to release music this year. Learn more about it here.

Alyssa Raghu, “My All” by Mariah Carey: Alyssa’s L.A. roommate, Julia Davo, a 20-year-old from Brooklyn with rock star ambitions is first in the audition room. She doesn’t make it. Alyssa is invited into the room and winds up in the audition oval. Her voice soars, of course. This is a gal who made the Top 24 in Season 16 and the Top 8 in Season 17. Katy says she’s grown vocally, but gives her a “no” because she doesn’t think she can win. Luke and Lionel are more than willing to welcome Alyssa back for a third try at Idol. Alyssa’s released music since she was on the show. Learn about it here.

Michael Rice, 26, England, “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson: He’s singing the song in honor of his dad, who died of a heart attack related to a drug addiction when Michael was young. Listed as a street performer by Idol, Michael belts out an impassioned performance of the hit song by the original Idol. He gets a standing ovation asnd a hug from the judges. Lionel calls it “a powerful” performance. Kelly said he performed the song like he wrote it himself. Michael’s already released music. And he has singing show experience from back home. Learn more about Michael here.

Conall Gorman, 19, Mountclair, N.J., “Backseat,” an original: Hey, this is a really impressive original. Conall shows off some grit in his voice and nice range, but the vocals a little rough around the edges. Then again, that works well with this type of song. Katy says he’s on the road to being a pro and has a “real interesting voice.” Lionel calls him “19, fearless and talented.” Luke gives him a yes too. By the way, Conall released “Backseat” last week.

Lillian Hackett, 17, Lovettsville, Va., “Tennessee” (an original): Our introduction to Lillian was pretty brief, but she showed off a nice country voice while singing an original song. Luke complimented her artistic vibe and she breezed to Hollywood with three yes votes. Oh, and guess what? Lillian released “Tennessee” to Apple Music on March 15.

Amari, “She Used to Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles: She’s transgender and opens her audition singing “Toxic.” It’s an odd performance with a mouth trumpet solo. Katy wants a second song, which is when Amari transitioned to the Sara Bareilles’ song. Her heartfelt. emotional performance earns her the golden ticket. Luke cast a no vote. Katy gives her a yes. Lionel calls the performance perfectly imperfect. And gives her the yes she needs to make it to Hollywood.

Reagan Mills, 24, Ennis, Tex., “Easy On Me” by Adele: Reagan is a pastor’s son and a worship director. He starts strong. Then Luke sends Katy over to the piano to “rough him up.” To my ears, it didn’t work. Not at all. Reagan sounds more in his element when Katy has him sing a gospel song, “Is My Living in Vain” by The Clark Sisters. Reagan’s mother enters the audition room and joins him on that song. Lionel calls him a full-fledged artist. Reagan has already released music. Learn more about him and his music here.

Dave Fio, 24, Taylor, Michigan, “Save Me” by Jelly Roll: Dave says he submitted his audition videos for American Idol, took a second look at them and didn’t like what he saw. In particular, the bags under his eyes and his puffy face. So he decided to get healthy, went sober and lost 65 pounds in the next 12 weeks. The bio bar says he’s a construction worker. He starts strong, with lots of growl and grit in his voice. A little too much growl to Luke’s taste. Katy makes him sing the first line of the chorus a couple more times. She says he’s got a “solid” voice and a great personality. Katy gives him a yes. Lionel says no. Luke breaks the tie in Dave’s favor.