After five nights of auditions, viewers and American Idol contestants finally learned what the mysterious twist in the first round of Hollywood Week would entail, but it wasn’t nearly as daunting as host Ryan Seacrest and judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie would have you believe.
For the first time in Idol history, contestants were required to choose a specific genre to perform in. And while not all singers were shown during the televised portion of the show, the performances that did make the cut revealed the immense talent of all of the singers and how difficult Luke, Lionel and Katy’s job is. Fortunately for the young artists, mentor Bobby Bones was on hand to listen to their concerns and dispense sound advise for calming their nerves.
Hollywood is where the rubber meets the road. Performers who may have just barely made it, were encouraged to leave it all on the line. Some did with great success, others found the end of their journey.
The following fan-favorite contestants were among those sent through to the next Hollywood round.
JULIA GARGANO (21) – Staten Island, New York
ARTHUR GUNN (22) – Wichita, Kansas
LEWIS KNIGHT (19) – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
GENEVIEVE LINKOWSKI (21) – Goodrich, Michigan
ROBERT TAYLOR (27) – Donaldsonville, Louisiana
BILAAL AVAZ (19) – New York
SHANNON GIBBONS (20) – Bellport, New York
LAUREN SPENCER-SMITH (16) – Vancouver, Canada
CYNIAH ELISE (17) – Atlanta, Georgia
MAKAYLA PHILLIPS (17) – Temecula, California
JUST SAM (21) – Harlem, New York
ADAM CURRY (25) – Chicago, Illinois
FRANCISCO MARTIN (19) – San Francisco, California
JOHNNY WEST (23) – Murietta, California
DILLON JAMES (26) – Bakersfield, California
MARGIE MAYS (26) – Wilmington, Delaware
NICK MERICO (23) – Woodland Hills, California
KIMMY GABRIELA (17) – Lakeland, Florida
LAUREN MASCITTI (27) – Nashville, TN
HANNAH PRESTRIDGE (24) – Rockdale, Texas
GRACE LEER (28) – Nashville, Tennessee
AMBER FIEDLER (23) – Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
SOPHIA WACKERMAN (20) – Long Beach, California
JOVIN WEBB (28) – Gonzales, Louisiana
Next Sunday’s Hollywood Round is being teased as yet another twist in the normal evolution of competition. Online spoilers suggest that instead of groups, there will be duet performances. We’ll see in a week!