Platinum ticket winners Abi Carter, Julia Gagnon and Odell Bunton Jr. perform during Hollywood Week on American Idol (ABC Photo)
American Idol hopefuls head to Hollywood Week when the show returns Sunday night.
But we heard the judges warn Jayna Elise, a Season 21 contestant, that Hollywood Week had changed this year.
They weren’t kidding.
In fact, Idol has streamlined its Hollywood Week and final judgment episodes.
Those shows aired over two weeks and four nights in recenet seasons.
This spring, we’ll have a Top 24 by the time Monday night’s show ends.
And fans will start voting for their favorites when the Top 24 perform next Sunday (April 7) and Monday (April 8).
Hollywood Week will feature just one performance this season as each golden ticket recipient gets to perform in an area while the judges and other contestants look on.
That platinum ticket recipients — Abi Carter, Julia Gagnon and Odell Bunton — get to skip this round and advance directly to the Showstopper Round, which will be the focus of Monday’s episode.
With Hollywood Week about to begin, I thought it’d be a good idea to provide readers with a recap of the singers we’ve met so far.
Here are the ladies. If there’s a link attached to the contestant’s name, it will take you to a profile with background info the show didn’t provide and information on any music the artist has already released. Head here for the gents.
Abby Blake of American Idol Season 22
Abby Blake, 25, Nashville, Tenn., “What About Us” by Pink: She showed off lots of vocal firepower, but needed a tie-breaking vote from Luke to get her golden ticket. Lionel said he liked her “edge.”
Abi Carter of American Idol Season 22
Abi Carter, 21, Indio, Calif., “What Was I Made For” by Billie Eilish: Her emotional performance ended the season’s second episode. How impressed were the judges? Abi got a standing ovation, a Top 10 prediction from Katy and one of the season’s three platinum tickets.
Alyssa Raghu of American Idol Season 22
Alyssa Raghu, 21, Los Angeles, Calif., “My All” by Mariah Carey: She’s on Idol for the third time after finishing Top 8 in Season 17. Right now, she probably wishes she’d stayed home when her best friend auditioned.
Amari of American Idol Season 22
Amari, “She Used to Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles: She’s the transgender singer who impressed the judges when she sang “She Used to Be Mine” as her second song.
Aniston Pate of American Idol Season 22
Aniston Pate, 20, Dalhart, Texas, “Hummingbird,” an original: She’s the young woman who auditioned with a song written about her mother. And she had Lionel comparing her to Dolly Parton. That original was released Friday.
Anna Grace of American Idol Season 22
Anna Grace, 18, Pembroke, N.C., “The Prayer”: she’s the young woman of Native American descent who won a golden ticket when Katy won a moo-off against Luke.
Athena Jett of American Idol Season 22
Athena Jett, 20, Las Vegas, Nevada, “Never Enough” from The Greatest Showman: She’s the young woman who got the golden ticket after her 12-year-old sister suggested “Never Enough” as a second song.
Bethany Teague, 25, Charlotte, N.C., “Piece by Piece” by Kelly Clarkson: She’s the pre-school teacher who made a big impression on the judges with her emotional performance of Kelly’s hit.
Camila Galavis of American Idol Season 22
Camila Galavis, 14, Miami, Fla., “Rabia” by Joaquina: She’s the daughter of a former contestant on The Bachelor who made it to Hollywood on a 2-1 vote because of her pop chops.
Carmen Olivia of American Idol Season 22
Carmen Olivia, 16, Bethel, Conn., “Oscar Winning Tears” by Raye: We saw just a bit of her audition on Sunday’s show, but she sounded fantatic.
Cate Gartner of American Idol Season 22
Cate Gartner, 18, Aledo, Texas, “The Place That I Call Home” (an original): She auditioned with a song she wrote for her unborn baby after discovering she was pregnant at age 17.
Deida Jeudy of American Idol Season 22
Deida Jeudy, 16, Tavares, Fla., “River” by Leon Bridges: She’s the teen who help with her three visually impaired brother. Lionel proclaimed her “a natural.”
Elleigh Marie of American Idol Season 22
Elleigh Marie, 20, American Fork, Utah, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt: She received high praise or her emotional performance, fueled in part because her Air Force dad was about to be deployed.
Emmy Russell of American Idol Season 22
Emmy Russell, 24, Nashville, Tenn., “Skinny” (an original): She’s the granddaughter of Loretta Lynn and produced this great single in conjunction with Song House in Nashville. Katy dubbed her an “A+” songwriter.
Hailey Mia of American Idol Season 22
Hailey Mia, 16, Clifton, N.J., “Rise” by Katy Perry: Her audition kicked off the second episode and Luke said she has Top 10 potential. She made the finals of The Voice in December 2021 after auditioning at age 13.
Jacy Matthews of American Idol Season 22
Jacy Matthews, 17, Centre, Ala., “Help Me Make It Through the Night” by Kris Kristofferson: She’s the sister of Mia (see below) and competed on The Voice with Mia and her mother as the country-pop trio Worth the Wait.
Jayna Elise of American Idol Season 22
Jayna Elise, 22, Washington, D.C., “The Climb” by Miley Cyrus: She made it to the Top 55 in Season 21 and played a starring role as a good sport during Hollywood Week.
Jennifer Jeffries of American Idol Season 22
Jennifer Jeffries, 17, Starkville, Mississippi, “Change My Ways” (an original): She auditioned with an impressive Christian single she’s already released. Luke called her tone “amazingly unique.”
Julia Gagnon of American Idol Season 22
Julia Gagnon, 21, Cumberland, Maine, “Ain’t No Way” by Aretha Franklin: Hers was the last audition that aired and the judges were so impressed that they followed her from the audition room and exchanged her gold ticket for a platinum one.
Justice Murphy of American Idol Season 22
Justice Murphy, 21, Forrest City, Ark., “Summertime” by Fantasia: She chose an iconic Idol performance to try to duplicate and made it work. Luke said he’s cast 10 yes votes for her if he could.
KB Richins of American Idol Season 22
KB (Kaibrienne) Richins, 20, Henefer, Utah, “Something in the Orange” by Zach Bryan: Videos of KB singing in her dad’s car went viral. And her distinct tone, complete with a touch of rasp, provided one of the vocal highlights of the second audition episode.
Kennedy Reid of American Idol Season 22
Kennedy Reid, 23, New Albany, Indiana, “River Deep, Mountain High” by Tina Tuner: She’s a singing mortician with a big voice and wore something called coffin nails to her audition. She made it to Hollywood on a 2-1 vote.
Kyra Waits of American Idol Season 22
Kyra Waits, 23, Berea, Ky., “Up to the Mountain” by Patty Griffin: She’s a stay-at-home mom who had auditioned for the last 5 years. Her strong, soulful voice earned a standing ovation from the judges.
Laela Dasher of American Idol Season 22
Laela Dasher, 20, “Angel from Montgomery” by John Prine: Her brother Max had already earned a golden ticket when she marched into the audition room and showed off a soulful voice of her own. She advanced by a 2-1 vote. No idea what prompted Katy to vote “no.”
Lillian Hackett of American Idol Season 22
Lillian Hacket, 17, Lovettsville, Va., “Tennessee” (an original): A country singer, she released the song just days before her audition aired.
Madai Chakell of American Idol Season 22
Madai Chakell 22, Springfield, Mass, “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry: She does voices. She’s performed on Broadway. And she advanced on a 2-1 vote after Katy had her sing “Happy Birthday” minus the flair.
McKenna Breinholt of American Idol Season 22
McKenna Breinholt, 25, of Gilbert, Ariz., “There Was Jesus” by Dolly Parton and Zach Williams: Her emotional meeting with her birth family capped an audition with began with one of the best vocals of the season premiere. She also sang a song released by her late birth mothr, Amy Ross Lopez, who was one half of the duo Nowhere Man and a Whiskey Girl.
Meggie Iyer of American Idol Season 22
Meggie Iyer, 18, Carmel, Indiana, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt: Katy called this college student “the total package” after she showed off a nice soulful tone during her audition.
Mia Matthews of American Idol Season 22
Mia Matthews, 18, Centre, Ala., “No Place That Far” by Sara Evans: She’s the sister of Kacy and competed on The Voice as part with her sister and mother as the country-pop trio Worth the Wait.
Micaela McCall of American Idol Season 22
Micaela McCall, 28, Santa Barbara, Calif., “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder: She went viral while busking. And in the season premiere, Katy praised her for doing such an original cover of an oft-covered song.
Nya of American Idol Season 22
Nya, 27, Manhattan, N.Y., “Wait a Minute” by Willow Smith: She has theatrical experience and showed up looking and sounding like a star. Lionel proclaimed she has “the goods to go all the way.”
Scarlett Lee of American Idol Season 22
Scarlet Lee, 26, London, by Emeli Sande: She competed on two season of The X Factor back home and brought the Idol judges to their feet with her soulful tone and vocal control.
Sophia Ava Marie of American Idol Season 22
Sophia Ava Marie, 15, Las Vegas, Nevada, “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry: We saw just a bit of her audition during a talented teens clip, but she sounded fabulous.
Ty’esha Lashae of American Idol Season 22
Ty’Esha Lashay, 22, Monroeville, Ala., “Unaware” by Allen Stone: We saw just a snippet of her performance in the final audition episode, but she displayed a big, rich voice.
Victoria Johnson of American Idol Season 22
Vicky Johnson, 16, “No Excuses” by Meghan Trainor: She displayed a bubbly personality to go along with a fine voice and left the audition room holding a ticket with teeth marks from Luke’s dog.
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