'American Idol's Top 24 Perform for America's First Vote of the Season
Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, Stitch, Lionel Richie, Ryan Seacrest and the Top 24
American Idol’s stay at the at the Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii, began tonight with 12 artists from the Top 24 performing for America’s votes for the first time.
They were mentored by former Idol contestant and Grammy winner Tori Kelly, who joined judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan to critique the 12 artists performing: Hailey Mia, Jordan Anthony, Jayna Elise, Julia Gagnon, Kayko, Nya, Blake Proehl, Abi Carter, Qunitavious, Kaibrienne “KB” Richins, Will Moseley and McKenna Faith Breinholt.
Tori later performed her new single, “High Water.”
Also performing was the reigning American Idol and Oahu native Iam Tongi with his newest single, “Why Kiki?”
The second group of 12 will perform on Monday night. Then next Sunday night, the Top 20 will be revealed in a three-hour special episode of American Idol.
Related: American Idol 2024: Who Made It Through to the Top 24
Here's the breakdown for the first 12 of American Idol's Top 24:
Hailey Mia
Song: “she’s all I wanna be” by Tate McRae
Tori: “I watched your sound set, that girl to this girl, you leveled up. You killed it.”
Katy: "Hailey, 16 amazing. I love the moments you draw people in with like these intimate moments, and you make people's attention and eyes and ears on you. I think you could have given it a little more sauce
Jordan Anthony
Song: “Titanium” by Dave Guetta feat. Sia
Katy: “That last run gave me a wonk eye. It was like, ‘How did you even do that?’ It was super-duper impressive. Now, it’s a delicate balance because it could get too runny, just always find that balance.”
Luke: “I liked the riskiness of the song choice. I don’t think we’ve ever had a male sing Sia. It showed us something we haven’t seen you do yet.”
Jayna Elise
Song: “Confident” by Demi Lovato
Tori: Jayna, I’m just so proud right now because I know you’ve been wanting to work on your stage presence. You looked like a rock star up there. You really did.”
Lionel: “I’m just going to give you a new name now. It’s take-no-prisoners Jayna. Probably about 15 seconds into that song, you turned into stage presence killer. It was absolutely stellar. Loved your performance.”
Julia Gagnon
Song: “Rumour Has It” by Adele
Katy: “Rumor has it that that Platinum Ticket turned into some kind of ring.”
Julia: “Yes, it did. I got engaged.”
Katy: “Congratulations. Love is wonderful. I loved your performance. That last note really reminded me why we made you our Platinum Ticket. I had never really heard that low register you were singing in. I thought it was wonderful to play with, but I thought the low had a lot of vibrato. Let’s iron a little bit of that out and keep on with the mixture that you do so well.”
Related: American Idol Saved the Best for Last—Watch!
Kayko
Song: “How to Live Without You” by Kayko
Tori: “I knew you were dedicating that song to your mom. It’s one thing to be an amazing vocalist and you can be the best singer in the world but I think a true artist is somebody who can evoke that emotion and bring us into your world and what you’re experiencing and I think you did just that. I commend you for that. I thought it was stunning.”
Lionel: “What you pray for when you start singing your original song is it’s supposed to sound like it’s been here forever. You accomplished that. I love what you did.”
Nya
Song: “The Best” by Tina Turner
Katy: “I thought the arrangement was so great. It was super cool. It was so beautiful. You do have your own tone. I just wish you all the success in the world.”
Luke: “That song has a lot of dynamics to it, especially the phrasing in the verse. You navigated that really well and it got even better as you settled in. I think you brought it home the best so far tonight.”
Blake Proehl
Song: “Anyone” by Justin Bieber
Katy: “Listen, you’re the only thing standing in the way of you going to the next level because you have all the makings of it. I think your mind also controls your voice a little bit. I liked in the second verse you were, ‘Screw it. I’m just going to go for it. I don’t care if I go down in flames.’ That helped you. Remember to push yourself every single time out of your head.”
Luke: “Tonight, I could tell you really are in the growth of what you’re becoming as an artist. You’ve got this boy-next-door charm thing going on. When you really put the work in and put it all together, I think you may hit some magic.”
Abi Carter
Song: “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong UNITED
Luke: “That was kind of like an experience. We saw you start at the piano and navigate that. We saw you and the background singers have the moment. We saw you hit the big notes. You’re definitely one of the frontrunners and one of the favorites.”
Tori: “I am shaking for you. I was rooting for you so hard. I feel a performance is all about creating moments and you did exactly that. The moment we talked about coming out from behind the piano because you said that’s a crutch for your sometimes, it didn’t feel like that at all. It felt like you were a true performer. It was your moment. You took it and killed it.”
Related: American Idol Judges Award the Second Platinum Ticket to the 'Best Thing We've Ever Heard'
Qunitavious
Song: “Something in the Water” by Carrie Underwood
Tori: “I want to take my shoe off and chuck it at the stage. I really wanted you to sing my song but at the end of the day, I really respect that you said, ‘This is where I’m at right now. This is the song I’m feeling in my heart, and I’m going to go for it.’ Those high notes, whatever notes those were that don’t exist, incredible.”
Lionel: “Yes, sir. That’s what I’m talking about. You took charge. You see that crowd? Your job is to take that crowd to the next level. That’s exactly what you did. Your vocals were amazing, and I don’t even know what that note was that you hit. That was a great performance.”
Kaibrienne “KB” Richins
Song: “Heaven” by Bryan Adams
Tori: “I feel like you feel relieved after that. You worked on believing in yourself that you could do it because you have the chops, you have this amazing rasp in your voice. You hit the notes but I believe your biggest hurdle is going to be you believing in you. I would love to see that from the beginning, you getting on that stage and saying, ‘Yeah, I can do this,’ because you killed it.”
Lionel: “The most important part about singing is when the crowd can feel you. From the opening of your song, I had goosebumps. That cry you have in your voice, you can’t teach. As long as you saw your father over in the corner, and when I saw his hand go up and I saw everybody else [waving arms], I said, ‘She connected.’ That’s the greatest part of your voice. Congratulations, you have something you can show off.”
Will Moseley
Song: “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay by Ottis Redding
Katy: “Luke and I were just commiserating. We were like, ‘That was the best song of the night.’ We both agreed that that was the most solid performance. It was solid like milk, meatloaf and apple pie. It was so American. It did feel safe. It felt like your favorite cup of tea, cup of joe. America’s going to do what it’s going to do, but you’re worth it.”
Luke: “That was my favorite of the night. It was so listenable. We’re kind of on a bay, we’re staring at the bay, you’re sitting kind of on a dock, you sat down and you delivered exactly what you are. We just saw Iam Tongi and he won this thing by being authentic, by singing the songs that tell his story, and, man, that performance will put you in a big time contingent in this whole competition.”
McKenna Faith Breinholt
Song: “The Story” by Brandi Carlisle
Katy: “You have that star voice. When you close your eyes, it’s like, ‘Wow! She’s ready for the big time.’ I like that it was intimate and then you showed us a little more upbeat because you’ve done a lot of intimate moments. You do have something incredible, and I want the world to know.”
Tori: “You have one of those voices where I can already picture it on a record. Yes, you sound amazing live, but there’s something about your tone that’s so warm and pure and authentic. I love seeing you with the guitar. I just love you. I think you’re so special.”
The second 12 members of American Idol’s Top 24 will perform on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and then next day stream on Hulu.
Next, Make Your Vote Count! How to Vote Online or By Text on American Idol 2024
