We begin the Hollywood Week rounds of American Idol 2015 with solo performances from the hundreds of Golden Ticket holders who traveled from their audition events with dreams of becoming the next winner of American Idol.
FOX has promised us that there will be tough eliminations made this week that will leave us with a much smaller group by this time next week. Who will be eliminated and who will earn their spot in the coveted Top 48 on Season 14? It’s time to find out.
Before things get started the Judges come out on stage and warn the Hopefuls that there will be some tough eliminations in this round, but before they get to those the Judges want to invite a select few up on stage for immediate performances. Ryan Seacrest tells us this will be decided by some of the most memorable American Idol auditions.
First solo Hollywood Week performances goes to Jax, from the NYC auditions. She’s singing Britney Spears’ “Toxic” in a cover that gives it a new sound and unique appeal. Going first for this sort of thing isn’t easy, but Jax is about to make it look that way.
Next up we’ve got Mark Andrew, Emily Brooke, Sal Valentinetti, and Adam Ezegelian in a rapid montage of performances. The singers aren’t getting any feedback from the Judges during this series of quick performances.
Now things shift to the San Francisco pool of American Idol contestants and Tyanna Jones is the leader of the pack and reminds us of why she quickly became a fan favorite after her audition. Fantastic performance by Tyanna with a simple song that really showcased her talent.
Savion Wright takes the stage next with “Get Lucky” and earns a lot of applause and a standing ovation from his competitors.
Hollywood Anderson is back following what Harry Connick Jr. called the best audition of the day back in Brooklyn. Jennifer was not pleased and said that by him taking a song and “wrecking” it is how he would knock himself out of the competition. Ouch!
Keith Urban asks the contestants to relax because they’re seeing too much stress and anxiety messing up the performances.
Jennifer calls up Shannon Berthiaume for her performance of “Sir Duke” and things are going well until she hits a wall and freezes up. After a moment of big eyes and worry she’s back on track and finishes it out strongly.
We’re back from the break with Adam Lasher doing a great cover of “Wicked Games” that generates plenty of smiles and claps from the Judges. Harry tells the other Judges that he thinks Adam has got some real talent and is something special.
Garret Miles is singing Garth Brooks’ “To Make You Feel My Love” which Harry says was a great demonstration of how well he does by hitting and holding the notes without any vibrato.
We may be in Hollywood, but it doesn’t always sound like it as we’re getting a run of unfortunate performances including the previously well received Kory Wheeler. Maybe Trevor Douglas can turn this around for us with his performance of “I See Fire.”
The quirky Joey Cook is here with a ukulele cover of “Kerosene” and it’s pretty much what you’d expect, but hey at least she’s doing something different!
A very nervous and shaken Amber Kelechi is up next and she’s teary eyed with the sense of pressure to deliver on this performance for her family. She’s singing “Radioactive” and it’s not going very well, but she’s giving it her all. Harry notes that it was a “far inferior” performance to her audition.
Now the Judges start to reveal what’s been going on. Harry calls all of the performers who just went to go up on stage. It’s a large, group with 38 singers out of the 200+. So much larger than what we’ve seen so far on tonight’s show. Keith tells them they were called up because they had the most memorable auditions.
Jennifer tells the on-stage crowd that they’ll have to make some tough decisions, but for today they’re going to get the benefit of the doubt and are all sticking around. No eliminations for this group. Now as for the rest of them still in their seats? The next day of performances is their turn and Ryan tells us that only half of them will survive the upcoming cuts.
Day 2 – Hollywood Week:
Here’s how the next round will work. With over 150 singers left to go they’re going to speed it up and put them on stage in groups of 10 with each taking a turn. From there some will step forward to safety and the rest will head home.
Reno has a short turn with “Contact High” before being stopped. Priscilla Barker joins Reno’s group for her performance of “Butterfly Fly Away.” Jaq Mackenzie sings “Cool Kids” for just a moment before being stopped with the Judges ready to name their cuts.
First eliminations are up for the night with Priscilla and a few others being cut, but Jaq and Reno making it on through. Now there’s a montage of eliminations filled with tears and disappointment as we say goodbye to a string of unidentified Hopefuls.
Nearing the end of the night we’ve got performances from Erica Washington with “Girl On Fire” and she makes it through to the next round.
Michael Simeon is performing “Warrior” at the keyboard for his chance to move on. “Big Ron” Wilson is up next with “A Song For You” after dedicating it to Jennifer. Time for the results for this group of ten. Michael and Big Ron make it through, but “Great Balls of Fire” performer Jacob Tolliver is cut along with several others.
Gabby Zonneveld kicks off the guitar wielding group after declaring herself to be the next winner of American Idol because she’s more than just a one dimensional artist. Gabby chokes mid performance and can’t go on, or will she? We’ll find out tomorrow night!
Can’t wait to find out what happens next? We’ve got your American Idol Top 24 spoilers list revealing which Hollywood Hopefuls survive the upcoming eliminations.
Tomorrow night the Hollywood Rounds continue so stick with us for even more results and updates. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, and by Email Updates to get the latest news then we’ll see you for the next American Idol!