Earlier this year, thousands of hopeful vocalists auditioned to become the next “American Idol.” Out of the 127 contestants who impressed the Season 24 judging panel, composed of Carrie Underwood, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan, well enough to earn themselves a Golden Ticket to Hollywood Week, only 20 singers now remain in the competition.
After surviving the first-ever ‘Ohana Week’ in Hawaii and receiving invaluable mentoring sessions with artists like Keke Palmer and Brad Paisley, the Top 20 are now just days way from competing in the first live shows of the season, where the American public – not the judges – will determine who moves forward and whose hopes of becoming the next “American Idol” are dashed.
In anticipation of the first live episode, set to air on ABC next Monday, March 30, Underwood, Richie and Bryan opened up about how they’re feeling about the currently-airing season and its talented Top 20 so far, as well as revealing their thoughts on contestants brave enough to cover one of their own hit songs on the show.
Carrie Underwood Calls ‘American Idol’ Journey a ‘Cinderella Story’
DisneyIn a March 24 interview with ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos, longtime “American Idol” judge Lionel Richie opened up about how the contestants continue to surpass his expectations season after season.
‘It almost sounds like a cliche, [but] it gets better and better,” said the 78-year-old Grammy winner, who joined the “American Idol” judging panel ahead of its Season 16 revival in 2018.
“This talent keeps coming along and blowing us away every year,” Richie continued. “We keep thinking, ‘Oh, you can’t beat last year or the year before.’ And sure enough, they walk through the door and something unique shows up…Their stories, their talent, it’s all in front of you. It’s a brand new season.”
While “American Idol” is, at the end of the day, a talent competition, Carrie Underwood – who won the show’s fourth season in 2005 before returning as a judge on Season 23 last year – echoed Richie’s statement about the impact the contestant’s stories have on the series.
“It’s a Cinderella story, right?” said the 43-year-old Grammy winner. “We have a ton of talent walk through the doors…There’s a lot of great voices, but then you start learning more about them and people start relating to them.”
“You find people that you really connect with and I think that’s the heart of [‘American Idol’],” Underwood continued. “You take normal people and put them in really extraordinary situations that have great opportunities attached to them.”
Luke Bryan Reflects on How Young This Season’s Singer Are
DisneyAccording to the entire judging panel. Deciding which singers to send through to the next round of the competition each week is a nearly impossible task as they juggled each contestants’ performance and backstory – a feat that becomes even more challenging when you realize that the average age of the Top 20 is just under 23 years old!
“These kids are young,” Luke Bryan, 49, told ABC News, referring to the fact that the season’s oldest remaining competitors – Keyla Richardson and Kyndal Inskeep – are just 29 years old, while the youngest – Abayomi Lewis and Ruby Rae – are just 16!
Disney“They’re out there and they’re nervous and half the time they’ve got 20 family members that come with them. It’s a lot of pressure,” he added.
The five-time “Entertainer of the Year” went on to describe “American Idol” as a “vehicle” to help these young singers “chase their dreams.”
“We want to make this moment for them the best it can be,” he added. “We’re fighting for these kids.”
Lionel Richie Reveals the Balance of Nurturing Contestants & Being Realistic
DisneySpeaking further on how the judging panel balances nurturing contestants and being realistic with their advice, Richie admitted, “It’s really tough.”
“We fall in love with these kids and what we weren’t expecting, as far as real life, when asking the question, ‘So tell me about your family life,’ and they say, ‘We’re homeless,’ or ‘We lost everything,’ or ‘My mother was an addict,’” Richie continued.
“Now we’re dealing with a story where we don’t wanna let these kids go,” he added. “The realistic part is, a lot of times, we can see that they’re not gonna make the full journey, but they might need a great experience. So, if we do it correctly, we’ll leave them stronger than we met them.”
It’ll Take More Than a ‘Karaoke Moment’ to Win ‘American Idol’
In the end, however, it all comes down to who has the best voice.
That being said, Richie explained that it’ll take more than a “karaoke moment” for the Top 20 to secure their spot as the next “American Idol” champion.
“Everyone keeps thinking, ‘Why are you throwing these great singers off the show?’ And we’re saying, ‘No, no, no,’” he elaborated. “We’re not looking for singers. We’re looking for stylists.”
He added that a great way for the remaining singers to prove their prowess in the live show would be to perform one of the judges’ hit songs, but in a way that is entirely unique to them and their voice.
“When someone can take an ‘All Night Long’ and turn it into their song,” Richie explained, referring to his own 1982 chart-topper. “Taking a Carrie Underwood song and making it their song…That’s a stylist.”
“American Idol” returns to ABC with the first live show of Season 24 on Monday, March 30 at 8:00pm ET. Be sure to tune in to watch the Top 20 face off in the “Songs of Faith” themed episode – where the Top 12 will ultimately be revealed.
