American Idol – Season 3, Night Thirteen

By starrymag | May 3, 2020

By: Dustin Bradley

 

For the first time contestants perform live from home! “American Idol” scrambled under the pandemic concerns to find a way to have their live performances continue and they came up with a great idea! The contestants all received musical care packages from the series and each have the opportunity to record themselves. Then, “American Idol” will air them all at once while offering America the opportunity to vote for their favorites. Find out how the first night went!

 

Kimmy Gabriela- 17; Lakeland, Fl; “Leave Me Lonely” by Ariana Grande feat. Macy Gray; Kimmy is unrecognizable in her stunning new glow and confidence! Singing a song in her gorgeous backyard by Ariana Grande that might not be well known to anyone but stans. Kimmy wows the judges and Ryan!

 

Jovin Webb- 29; Baton Rouge, La; “With a Little Help From My Friends” by Joe Cocker; Singing in his empty garage, Jovin proves why he’s in the Top 20 by giving his most memorable performance since his audition! The judges all love and praise him. 

 

Franklin Boone- 27; Hillsborough, NC; “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears; Surrounded by all his family in the most gorgeous of living rooms, Franklin really shines in this performance. The judges all loved it! This is gonna be a tough call for America. 

 

Olivia Ximines- 16; Menifee, Calif.; “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish; Olivia is trying to prove that even with just an audience of her mother in her living room that she can still shine. And shine she does! Doing a unique take on the Billie Eilish now classic, Olivia not only makes the song her own but really uses this opportunity to show off her vocals. The judges are really enjoy it! 

 

Louis Knight, Narberth, Penn.; “If the World Was Ending” by JP Saxe feat. Julia Michaels; Louis is going back to his roots singing at the piano and making sure that it’s a heartfelt ballad. Singing in his bedroom with a new fresh haircut that Ryan can’t stop himself from pointing out, Louis does what he does best and makes the judges connect. He’s a fantastic artist! Hopefully he makes it through to the Top 10.

https://youtu.be/CbKqFZ5o96Y

Makayla Phillips- 17; Temecula, Ca; “Greedy” by Ariana Grande; Another Ariana Grande song! Except this time it’s the song that’s more synonymous with RuPaul‘s Drag Race (Valentina’s iconic mask covered lip-synch) than it is with “American Idol.” But with Makayla Phillips singing this hit in her living room and absolutely slaying it, this will be brought up as well. Katie believes that well her performance was incredible she could’ve chosen a better song. Lionel and Luke though both really love it!

 

Aliana Jester- 18; Fort Walton Beach, Fl; “Run to You” by Whitney Houston; Alana decides to sing Whitney song in her garage, remembering how Lionel compared her to young Whitney. She does a pretty all right job, but this personally isn’t my favorite performance from her. I would be greatly surprised if she wound up in the Top 10.

 

Faith Becnel- 20; Destrehan, La; “River” by Bishop Briggs; Faith has improved majorly throughout this whole competition. She has come a long way to completely nailing this Bishop Briggs tune. The judges are really like her and her growth, but I personally doubt that she will make it to the Top 10 due to such stiff competition this year.

 

Nick Merico- 24; Woodland Hills, Ca: “Hey There Delilah” by The Plain White T’s; Even Lionel can agree that this was a really good performance from Nick Merico! A stripped down piano version of this massive hit is performed extremely well. Let’s see the later tonight if Nick has what it takes to enter the Top 10.

 

Lauren Spencer-Smith- 16; Vancouver Island, British Columbia; “Mamma Knows Best” by Jessie J; our resident Canadian. Lauren sings a popular Jessie J song and sings it incredibly well. The judges all really like her, but this is another thing where America’s vote weighs more than the judges and I personally don’t know if she’ll make it to the Top 10 but she’s wonderful regardless.

 

Cyniah Elise- 17; Jonesboro, Ga; “Warrior” by Demi Lovato; Cyniah is an excellent performer and singer. She does extremely well in this song and it completely reminds us why we fell in love with her in the first place. The judges are really enjoy it!

 

Francisco Martin- 19; Daly City, Ca; “Teenage Dream” by Katy Perry; Well, it seems that Francisco from San Francisco is finally over his nerves so much that he takes a complete risk and sings a Katy Perry tune for Katy Perry. And boy does that risk pay off because this is one of the best versions of the song, including the original and the “Glee” version. I, personally, believe that there’s no doubt in my mind that Francisco will make it into the Top 10 let’s hope that he does!

https://youtu.be/ZeeCvjRRgaI

Sophia James- 20; Long Beach, Ca; “Burning” by Maggie Rogers; Well, Sophia Wackerman is no more. Now, it’s Sophia James with “James” being an homage to her brother. Sophia sings the hell out of the song and it’s very well done. The judges are really love and embrace her new name and her new found confidence.

 

DeWayne Crocker, Jr.- 23; Castle Rock, Co; “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown; The judges have some critiques about this performance. For me, I think that it is Dwayne’s best. It’s such an amazing song and performance that it just radiates pure joy.

 

Dillon James- 26; Bakersfield, Ca; “Let It Be Me” by Ray LaMontagne; Our “Post Malone cowboy” is so talented that it’s completely unbelievable. Dylan sings this song much like any with such ease! He’s going to have a long career to come even if he doesn’t make it into the Top 10. But of course he will!

https://youtu.be/Wk-NtKMhDDQ

Arthur Gunn- 21; Wichita, Ka; “Lovin’ Machine” by Wynonie Harris; Arthur continues to amaze the judges with his incredible and awe sounding voice. This song choice was particularly strange to me personally but the judges enjoyed the vibe with Katie’s only critique being that Arthur needs to open his eyes more. He’s most definitely in the Top 10.

https://youtu.be/ajIULUkkUls

Julia Gargano- 21; Staten Island, NY; “Human” by Christina Perri; Julia puts her own little melodic spin on the instant classic that was this song. She’s such an incredible talent! It’s no wonder that all the judges really loved her from the beginning! I would love to see her in the Top 10 but once again this was America’s vote so we shall see.

 

Grace Leer- 27; San Ramon, Ca; “Cry” by Faith Hill; speaking of America’s vote, Grace now has to prove that America was right in voting her through and that they should vote for her again to be in the Top 10. She sings the classic 90s Faith Hill song and sounds very wonderful! The judges of believe that she was exactly the right choice for the Top 20, but it’s up to America to decide once again if she’s ready for the Top 10.

 

Just Sam- 21; Los Angeles, Ca; “I Believe” by Fantasia Barrino; just Sam decided to stay back in California for a little while and in doing such is performing from an empty apartment that doesn’t have her grandma in it which is her main support system. Despite this she manages to sound so fantastic! She’s been a fan favorite since her first audition and I wouldn’t be surprised if she ends up in the Top 10!

https://youtu.be/x2_khyLc3z8

Jonny West- 23; Los Angeles, Ca; “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong; and the final performance of the night belongs to Mr. Margie Mays! We know from Margie’s YouTube channel that her and Jonny live together, so it was honestly kind of strange not seeing Margie there supporting her beau. Jonny sings such a timely song for the present moment that we are in with this pandemic. And despite everything going on in this competition, Katy still believes that he has everything it takes to be the winner!

https://youtu.be/csjt44KA1Y0