The Monday, February 16, episode of American Idol featured the final night of Auditions for Season 24. Judges Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie gave out the last batch of golden tickets to the contestants who will be continuing in the competition during Hollywood Week.
Several hopefuls came to Belmont University to show off their singing chops to the superstar judges, but not all of them will be moving on. Scroll down for a full recap of the night’s performances and to find out who earned golden tickets.
Rae
The first person to take the stage was Rae, a 24-year-old from Maryland who considers herself an American Idol “super fan.” She performed “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin.
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“I can’t believe we have not seen you in this room until now,” Bryan said. “In my opinion, you did a lot of amazing things in that performance.” Underwood noted, “You’ve got some pipes, for sure!”
The county singer admitted that Rae had “a little trouble landing the plan,” but said that it didn’t matter because she “did enough throughout the rest of the song.”
“I love your choices. You took Aretha, turned it upside down, and made it yours. I thought it was brilliant,” Richie added. Before the judges gave their votes, Rae shared an emotional moment with her family, including her father, whom she almost lost to a stroke the year before the audition. All three judges said yes to give Rae a golden ticket to Hollywood Week, making the family moment even sweeter.
Mor
Mor began his audition by opening up to the judges about being raised by his grandmother after his dad killed his mother when he was just 2 years old. Unbeknownst to Mor, his grandmother was at the audition, waiting for him to finish singing his original song “Strong,” which he wrote about seeing his mom’s picture for the first time.
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The judges were moved by Mor’s performance and gave him a standing ovation. “I feel like you went somewhere else when you were singing. It’s like we weren’t here, in a good way,” Underwood said.
“As unnerved as you may feel, I love your delivery, I love the [tempo] of your voice, and more importantly, that writing was very cool,” Richie added. Bryan praised Mor’s “look, style, hair, heart, [and] voice.” The judges then surprised him with his grandmother, who entered the audition room unexpectedly.
The three judges all said yes, giving Mor his golden ticket to Hollywood Week.
Julia Sienna
After a segment about how much “tougher” Bryan has been on the contestants this season, Julia Sienna, who works as a class one officer, came into the audition room to “arrest” him for giving too many nos. Julia then sang “I Would” by Connie Talbot for her audition.
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Julia’s performance had a much better effect on Bryan than the previous few. “I loved it!” he gushed. “Really, really great.” Underwood added, “I love you. I feel like you are such a fantastic representation of every woman. You come in, you’re strong, you’re gorgeous, you have a strength in your voice, and you have these beautiful notes at the top that are very soft and pretty. It’s all the things all wrapped into one.”
Richie agreed. “I love your voice. You got some substance in there. You’ve got natural abilities.” Unsurprisingly, all three judges said yes, which means Julia is headed to Hollywood Week.
Jake Thistle
Jake Thistle auditioned with “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Blind Faith, and Bryan noted that he “sounds like Bryan Adams a little bit.”
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“What I’m loving about all this is it’s fresh. You’re checking some boxes for me,” Richie said, and Underwood agreed that Jake has a “very cool voice.”
“You can tell you’ve been playing, you can tell you were comfortable with the guitar. I’m excited for you,” Underwood continued. Richie, Underwood, and Bryan all voted to give Jake the golden ticket.
Landon Hughes
Landon Hughes, a college soccer player, brought his Kentucky roots to American Idol with a bluegrass audition of “Little Maggie” by The Stanley Brothers.
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“You make me happy!” Underwood said. However, she pointed out that the show requires contestants to sing various genres throughout the season. “We want you to be you, but can you be you in other genres?” she asked.
Landon assured the group that he loves all genres of music and can sing anything. “Vocally, I’m a little skeptical,” Bryan admitted. “There was some stuff you did at the end where you had a little vibrato in there, and it was nice. I think you’re still exploring a lot with your voice.”
However, the judges decided they wanted to give Landon a shot. “You’re going to have to work on your delivery and pulling us in and some of the softer tones,” Underwood warned, while Bryan added, “I do think you might have a little uphill climb.” Still, it was a yes from all three, and a golden ticket for Landon.
Vika
The Idol judges found themselves in the position to have some teachable moments throughout the Auditions, including with Vika. Bryan stopped her performance and asked her to sing “Happy Birthday” instead, to point out that she was overdoing it with her audition song choice.
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“That was already better than everything you’ve done!” he told her afterwards. “I’m only messing with you because I’m going to give you a yes if you work on it and get better. I’m a yes.” Vika ended up getting her golden ticket.
Landon McGraw
When Landon McGraw first performed, Richie told him to dial back his growl a little bit, and when he started over, his performance was much more impressive.
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“That’s what you want all the way throughout that song,” Richie explained afterwards, while Underwood said, “Sometimes the simplest thing leaves them hanging on every note.” He got three yeses and will be moving onto Hollywood Week.
Brenna Brigman
Brenna Brigman, a vocal coach for young students, played piano and sang Alicia Keys‘ “Fallin’” for her audition.
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“You have a really great instrument. I felt like the piano was distracting me,” Underwood admitted. “I don’t know what it was. The drawing out of certain notes or something and then trying to get back into the rhythm of the piano or something…”
She asked Brenna to sing another song without piano, and she went with “My Church” by Maren Morris. “That was much better,” Underwood said. “You have a huge range.” She told Brenna that she needs some “fine-tuning here and there,” but praised her as one of the “better voices” they’d heard.
“You got all the tools vocally,” Bryan added, and Richie said, “I think there’s so much promise. I love your vibe.” All three judges said yes for Brenna to make Hollywood Week.
Matty Reynolds
Matty Reynolds sang “Undressed” by Sombr for his audition and played guitar during the performance.
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“You’ve got a voice, it’s just identity now. Who are you going to be walking out onstage?” Richie wondered, prompting Matty to share more about himself and his job working at a golf course, which excited Bryan.
Matty wound up getting all three judges to say yes, which means he earned that golden ticket.
Bella Emry
Next up, Bella Emry, who had minimal experience singing in front of people, hit the audition room to perform “I’m a Little Crazy” by Morgan Wallen.
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“That was great,” Underwood began. “I’m surprised to hear you say that you don’t perform. You seemed very comfortable just telling the story. We’re just kind of hanging on every word with you.”
Bryan added, “You’re so raw and unpolished. I wasn’t expecting you to really be able to hold our attention like that. You didn’t hit a bad note. You held the guitar together really, really well.” Finally, Richie said, “The first thing I said was, ‘Very cool vibes,’ and when you finished singing, I said, ‘Very cool vibes.’ Idol University has been waiting on you.”
Bella was shocked when all three judges assured her they wanted to hear more and advanced her to Hollywood Week.
Bartly
Bartly, a full-time musician, came to the show with a rendition of “Texas Son” by Leon Bridges.
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The judges were thoroughly impressed. “I love your voice,” Underwood said. “Song choice is going to be paramount because I feel like you already are entertaining before you do anything. You’re not trying too hard. It’s not gimmicky or anything, it’s just a cool style.”
Bryan agreed, adding, “[People] are going to expect something cool, and that’s what we like here at Idol. Someone who isn’t cookie-cutter and just unique to your own thing.” Richie also sang Bartly’s praises, and the hopeful earned his three yeses for a golden ticket.
Chloe Lauren
Despite never performing in front of people before, stay-at-home mom Chloe Lauren auditioned with “Maybe” by Sienna Spiro. She got emotional before singing, as she said she never dreamed of being able to do something like this.
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Bryan was so impressed that he even gave Chloe a standing ovation.
“It’s hard to find people with unique sounds and unique qualities,” Richie said. “You’ve got something amazing to work with.” Underwood jumped in to say, “You have a really special voice. A lot of times when we get voices with that kind of texture, they can’t hit the high notes like you did.”
Bryan said that once Chloe has more confidence, she’ll hit even higher notes. “Get ready to go for it. Go for it all,” he urged, before giving her a yes. Richie and Underwood also said yes, so Chloe is headed to Hollywood Week.
Jayson Garner
The next audition was from high school student Jayson Garner. He sang “On My Knees” by the Red Clay Strays, while also showing off his impressive guitar skills.
“I love your energy,” Underwood gushed. Bryan said, “I’m not sure you’re all the way there vocally, but you hooked the heck out of me. I wouldn’t tell you to change a thing.”
Richie added, “Your stage presence is electrifying, but I don’t want you to be a gimmick.” He told Jayson to take his performances seriously, then gave him a yes. Underwood urged Jayson to work on the softer side of his voice, but also said yes, as did Bryan, so Jayson is making his way to Hollywood Week.
Abayomi
For Abayomi’s audition, the poet performed a soulful rendition of “Black Leaves” by Kirby.
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Richie noted that the teenager is “15 going on 72,” and said, “You have some abilities far beyond your age.” Underwood told her, “You have the ability to captivate and milk moments. There’s a ton of potential here.”
Meanwhile, Bryan praised Abayomi’s artistic technique and said he sees a “universe of potential” for her. Just like that, Abayomi earned three yeses to make Hollywood Week.
Mia Soleil Sanchez
Just 14 years old, Mia Soleil Sanchez came to her American Idol audition to sing “In the Stars” by Benson Boone.
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“You have all the potential in the world, in the stars,” Underwood told Mia. “I will think about you, probably for the rest of my life. It is just a … not at 14.” Bryan and Richie agreed and also said no to the youngster, who was in tears as she found out she would not be moving on in the competition.
Clare Mairéad
Clare Mairéad, an Adam Lambert super fan, rocked out with her rendition of “Love Gun” by Kiss.
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It wasn’t quite enough to get Claire the golden ticket. “You are definitely a performer,” Richie said. “But I don’t think it’s ready yet. It’s going to be a no for me this trip.”
Jackson Inman
After the judges got over the fact that Jackson Inman sounds just like Bryan, the teenager sang “Better Days” by Zach Bryan.
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“Here’s the deal,” Bryan said. “You’re gonna be great one day. But it’s just a little bit away.” Unfortunately, the judges all felt like Jackson needed a little more time, so he will not be moving on.
Mary Jo Young
Hoping to have better luck was Mary Jo Young, who previously appeared on Season 19. She made it to the Top 24 before being eliminated, and said it was the right thing to happen so she could “go and learn and grow.”
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This time, Mary Jo auditioned with her original song, “Don’t Call Me.” This was Underwood’s first time hearing Mary Jo sing, as she was not part of the show in Season 19. “I like it a lot,” she said. “I like the song a lot. Your voice has a different kind of tone to it, but it has a lot of power when you go to the higher stuff.”
Richie applauded Mary Jo for “getting through” the tough times in the past, and Bryan added, “There is a different air of confidence to you that’s totally new. I’m glad to see your face again.”
Once again, Mary Jo earned three yeses in her audition, and she’ll be moving forward for a second time.
Chris Tungseth
The final audition of the season was from Chris Tungseth. He opened up about his mother’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis, which was followed by his dad getting diagnosed with leukemia 12 years later. Following his dad’s death, Chris wrote the song “Lonely Road,” which he sang at his audition.
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All three judges were very moved. “I love everything about you,” Underwood raved. “I love your presence…You have an incredible voice. It’s powerful, and it’s beautiful.”
Richie said, “Part of your singing is going to be the things you say between each song. You have a ministry, a real strong connection to people.”
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Bryan opened up about his own setbacks that put his music career on hold. “It’s really perfect, to me, what you’re doing,” he said. “I’ve been in the room with Chris Stapleton, you’ve got those kind of vibes going on.” All three judges said yes, and Chris is headed to Hollywood Week!
American Idol, Season 24, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC
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