American Idol 2019 Hollywood Week continues tonight (March 25 on ABC at 8 pm ET/PT. Featured on the panel are veteran R&B master, Lionel Richie, pop star Katy Perry and country singer Luke Bryan. Ryan Seacrest returns to host.

We’ve got a TON of Spoiler posts on the left side bar. Gonna link them here. NO SPOILER DISCUSSION ON THE LIVE BLOG. Keep spoiler talk under the spoilers posts. Giving stuff away will result in an instant banning.

When Does American Idol 2019 Start? Full Season 17 Schedule
American Idol 2019 Spoilers: Top 14 Contestant List
American Idol 2019 Spoilers: Top 20 Solo and Celebrity Song Choices
American Idol 2019 Spoilers: Top 40 Showcase Round Contestant List with Songs

At the end of Sunday’s show, Nate Walker was in an ambulance heading to the hospital. Will he be back in time to perform with his group Ain’t Goin Home or nah? We find out tonight. The group rounds end, final solos begin and the Top 4o will be revealed…with a surprise announcement.

Of course, Nate ONLY spent 2 hours at the hospital before returning to the Orpheum to perform with his group. That was predictable as well as anti-climatic. The morning of the performance, he continues to struggle with his voice. Nate insisted that he can’t sing and doesn’t want to do a full solo. Coach McPhee says he’s gotta. She warns him. Show business is hard. He’s gotta buck up. Heck, I’m old enough to remember Trent Harmon dragging himself through every single round of Hollywood Week as he battled freaking mono. That’s the stuff a winner is made of.

Ain’t Goin Home – Longest Time by Billy Joel – Logan Johnson, Nate Walker, Gazzie White, Ruthie Craft – HOLY COW. This performance is atrocious. Logan forgets his words. the rest of the group sounds horrible. Nate is awful. TRAINWRECK. Luke understands that he’s sick, but he MUST sing his full part for the judges. He starts and stops. The judges urge him on. He does finish. He’s being such a baby about this. And, inexplicably the entire group is through to the next round. What. The. Hell. Logan, Nate, Gazzie and Ruthie through to the next round.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqSpmcBztow

On to the final solos, which will be performed with the full band. Bandleader Kris Poole is in the house. Seventy singers remain. 30 will go home by the end of the round. After the performances, the singers will be split up into three rooms. You know the drill! The judges will visit each room to either deliver either incredible or devastating news. A Top 40 will emerge from this round.

Walker Burroughs – Your Song by Elton John – Walker shares how the Idol experience is taking him out of his comfort zone. While he’s beginning to feel like he’s part of the competition, he’s convinced he won’t win. It’s an Elton John song and he’s not playing piano! His voice is a tad bit too stylized, but I love his tone. He puts a new spin on one of my favorite songs and I ain’t even mad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OimBxjVYA4

Ryan announces that the Top 40 will perform in Hawaii at Aulani Disney resort. American Idol winner Maddie Poppe and runner up Caleb Lee Hutchinson visited the spot a few months ago as part of a Top 2 prize package.

Juan Pablo – Million Reasons by Lady Gaga – Katy said he verged on queso (cheese!) Bobby urges him to be himself no matter what. He decides to get serious. And it’s actually a bad idea. His vocal is nasally and off key. He needs the dumb Latin stereotypes to hide behind, where he is at least a little entertaining. This performance is tragic. Katy turns to Lionel to say his presentation was fine, but his vocals were lacking.

I think we can safely say that producers cast Juan Pablo as the villain of American Idol 2019 Hollywood week.

Ryan Hammond – All I Ask by Adele – He lost 170 pounds in 18 months after surgery. Seacrest ask the singer how he’s digging deep to find his confidence. Losing weight really helped, he says. Ryan has massive range, but I’m not in love with his tone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ajhSUuMf_I

Kai the Singer – Lost Without You by Freya Ridings – She’s the young vocalist who comes from near poverty. Her church helps her family out and also raised money to send her off to Los Angeles. Kai is so sheltered, she had never been on an escalator before, never mind the plane ride! This performance is a big improvement over her audition. She’s a better vocalist without playing an instrument–her pitch has improved so much. She still needs work, but there’s potential. Katy notes her nerves, “She needs confidence.” Poor Kai feels the weight of the world on her shoulders. “I need to do this for my church, my family.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23gIOeMkEuU

Katy advises the room to choose songs that connect. And be careful, she says–0riginal songs aren’t always good, even if your friends and family think so.

Riley Thompson – Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash – Who doesn’t love Johnny Cash she says of her song choice. Riley’s vocals need some work, but she possesses raw talent and charisma, in addition to an authentic country vibe.

Raquel Trinidad – First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack – I think this is a new singer? She picked this song, because she connects to the older classics!

Evelyn Cormier – Wonderwall by Oasis – She’s got good taste in music. Her family band performs the song. I would not have guessed that. I don’t really like her phrasing on this, though. The judges feel she chose the wrong song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-ycQ82lHqE

Eddie Island – 1974 (Original) – He’s passionate about singing originals! The year 1974 means nothing to him (but it is the year Seacrest was born). He said that he woke up to the number written on a whiteboard. OK then. Kat wasn’t impressed with the song. Neither am I. I keep going hot and cold on this guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTtwG0edY_k

Alejandro Aranda – Ten Years (Original) – He wrote the song about someone he cares about. Alejandro writes, beautiful guitar chords and melodies. I like the song better than his vocal. His upper register in particular, is weak.

https://youtu.be/n3TCKtwiQMg

Margie Mays – Never Enough – Before her performance, Margie has a total meltdown. She freaks out while one of the vocal coaches tries to calm her down. She’s obviously nervous through the performance, but she gets through it. Luke says, “She still doesn’t know how good she is.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2OIkLA9nGg

Wade Cota – Stay (Original) – He totally flubbed his lyrics during group rounds. Just to be sure he knows the song, he’s performing an original, about a terrible break up he had. “I did not get it,” says Lionel. Yeah, that performance was weak. That song had no melody.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dAnuG-ip70

Nate Walker – Always on My Mind – Well, he seems to be feeling better, but still not 100%. The judges are skeptical.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGVYefIsKN4

Tyler Mitchell – Broken Halos by Chris Stapleton – He’s the country singer from the Oklahoma oil fields. He works 12 hours a day 7 days a week sometimes. But even that is easier than Hell Week, he insists. Tyler has a pleasing, effortless tone. But–uh oh. HE FORGETS THE WORDS. “I’ve sang that song a 1000 times,” Tyler says, kicking himself. “I feel like I let my family down.” Aw. He’s crying. Katy is thinking no. Luke is a maybe.

Drake McCain – Always on my Mind by Willie Nelson – He has 10 siblings, a single mother and crazy hair! They can’t pay the bills. He chose the classic as a tribute to his mother. He’s giving the song the old college try, but there’s something missing here. I would call that performance nice, like a school assembly performance, but not moving.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paotSshg_ek

Bumbly – God is a Woman by Ariana Grande – She comes from a modest background, a Latin family. She wants to make them proud. She sings parts of the song in Spanish. I wish we could hear more of the performance, because this is pretty impressive vocal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggFYCjcYW80

Nick Townsend – In My Blood by Shawn Mendes – He lost two siblings to suicide. He knows they wouldn’t want him to give up. For once, he’s really digging deep. It’s not perfect, but he obviously felt that.

Gaba – Jealous by Labrinth – She’s the girl who just met her egg donor a few months ago. And now Gaba, her adoptive mom and Egg Donor are thick as thieves. Her bio mom is also a singer. There was a ton of talking over that performance. I would have rather heard more of the song than one more round of the Egg Donor story.

Jeremiah Lloyd Johnson – First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack – His family isn’t in the audience to cheer him on, because his religious parents do not accept his sexuality. But his boyfriend of several months, John is with him. He’s delivering a gorgeous version of this song. Every note placed is perfect. I am feeling this. I am so intrigued by this guy. He hits a huge note and doesn’t take a breath until he’s sung the next phrase. WOW WOW WOW. Deserved standing O for that. Also: His family is stupid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORlcIDv9s_M

Kate Barnette – Daughters by John Mayer – She wants to perform the song in a way that shows her artistry. She ditches the band to sing an acoustic version of the song. Her warbly, raspy phrasing is A+.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR8LjpFnrOg

Mya and Shayy’s auditions have 50 million views worldwide, says Ryan in voice-over (which was obviously recorded recently) He explains that the two had shaky morning rehearsals. We see them both struggle on stage with the band

Mya Tran – I Put a Spell on You – Mya pulls herself together by the time she hits the stage, delivering a pro performance.

Shayy – Cry Pretty by Carrie Underwood. Shayy has never performed a Carrie Underwood song before. She blanks on the words. She struggles a bit. It’s not her best performance. The song wasn’t right for her.

Ohhh. fun montage of former Idols waiting for news in Hollywood, including Gabby Barrett, Maddie Poppe, Scotty McCreery, David Cook, Katharine McPhee. “Waiting in agony is a long held Idol tradition,” Ryan solemnly intones. “For well over a decade, countless Idol hopefuls passed through this gauntlet while the judges left them to suffer in anticipation.” Sounds pretty grim there, Ryan.

Laci Kaye Booth – Stars by Grace Potter – We see footage of a very young Laci Kaye watching American Idol with her family. Cute. The song is an interesting choice for Laci. She’s a traditional country singer but in the vein of a singer/songwriter like Emmylou Harris. I like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwBjfpuaZpg

Uche – Scars to Your Beautiful by Alessia Cara – Dedicating the song to his younger sister, Uche tears up talking about her. For this last solo, the typically energetic singer wants to tone down the theatrics. It’s his best yet. There are a few odd moments vocally. but he’s a compelling performer. “He just grew up,” declares Luke.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-bQu9c-8uw

Madison vandenburg – All I Ask by Adele – She’s singing an original. A big risk. Coach McPhee and Bobby love the idea of original music. But it has to be a GOOD song. That scares her. She decides to cover Adele instead. Hm. Is it the right time to play it safe? We KNOW she can sing these big ballady numbers. I kinda wish she had gone with the original, actually. But this is certainly a performance that will take her to the next round.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4n0Afhk7Y0

Austin Michael – Parachute by Chris Stapleton – Originally, he rehearsed “Speechless” by Dan + Shay, but he’s worried about hitting the high note. In rehearsal, he forgot his lyrics and didn’t know the melody. He’s sure he’s going home. At the last minute, he changes his song to Parachute. It’s so DRAMATIC we have to sit through a commercial break before his performance. And…it’s not very good. Vocally, he’s not ready and may never be. SO many pitch problems. “That was his worst performance,” Katy says under her breath to the judges after clapping and saying “NICE ONE” to the singer’s face. Nice one, indeed.

Shawn Robinson – Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing – He wants to make his mom proud! The performance is eh. The extra runs at the end are not an improvement.

Alyssa Raghu – What About Us by Pink – She was eliminated at the Top 24 and was devastated. After sulking for a week, she picked herself back up and got to work. Now, she works that stage like a boss. Girl has come a long way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA8TeOrQiMs

Johanna Jones – Wicked Game by Chris Isaak – Johanna’s family is in Los Angeles as support, but she wishes her boyfriend could join them. He’s finishing up finals at school. She’s sure she found the one. “I’m petty dang in love.” YOU KNOW WHAT’S COMING YOU KNOW YOU DO. WAIT FOR IT WAIT FOR IT. (By the way, I love her dress. Maybe the singing not so much. She has her moments, but I question a few of her choices.) And there it is. The Boyfriend arrives with a TINY TINY box. Katy’s crying of course. Johanna knows what’s coming. He gets down on one knee. Blah blah Will You Marry Me? Blah. She says yes of course. Katy is almost passed out on the floor doing her best Ugly Cry. “WHY WON’T SOMEBODY LOVE ME LIKE THAT,” Of course Katy will get engaged to Orlando Bloom, a month or so later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uRLlwPnPVs

Performances are over. After the judges ~~fake~~ deliberate, the singers are divided into 3 rooms. The scary thing–singers surely look around at who is in the room with them.

The judges give the negative spin to start before delivering good or bad news. Room 1 is through!!! The kids in rooms 2 and 3 can hear the celebration.

Room 2 is next. Lionel tells the group they have been cut. “I am so proud of you,” he says. “There are people at home who are going to be inspired by you. Oh. Juan Pablo was so sure he was through Heh. And of course…Room 3 is through. Luke reveals the GREAT news! “Your time in Hollywood is over,” he says, like a troll. “Because you’re going to Hawaii!” The two groups come together to celebrate. WHEE.