On Sunday, American Idol 2022 Hollywood Week continues with the Duet Challenge, and here’s your first look. The judges, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan paired up former AGT contestant, Christian Guardino with the soulful Nicolina Bozzo. The two perform a powerful version of “The Prayer” by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli.
“Hold onto your wigs!” declares Katy before the pair start to sing. Nicolina and Christian call themselves “Cantante Forte.” The Italian phrase roughly translates to “Strong Singer” in English. Indeed, the two can belt passionately, but without oversinging. The dynamics and phrasing are handled exquisitely. By the end of the song, fellow contestants in the auditorium are on their feet.
Lionel attempts the feeblest fake out. He’s not very good at pretending like the answer might be no. He actually says, “When you have a duel, somebody gets shot.” adding, “When you have voices of this power, it’s who cut through.” But then he admits that they both cut through and are advancing to the “Showstopper” round. The judges leap to their feet to give Christian and Nicolina a round of applause.
Watch Nicolina Bozzo and Christian Guardino sing “The Prayer” American Idol 2022 Hollywood Week Duets Challenge
After the Hollywood Week Genre Challenge, the judges paired up the remaining contestants to perform unforgettable duets.
The three Platinum Ticket holders, Kenedi Anderson, HunterGirl and Jay Copeland joined the competition for Duets after sitting out the first round. Another platinum perk allowed them to handpick their own duet partners.
Then, the 69 singers who survived the Duets round, moved on to the Showstopper Round (Spoilers!). After performing in front of the judges and a studio audience, the singers learned whether they earned a spot in the Top 24 and a trip to the Disney Aulani Resort in Hawaii (SPOILERS Here and Here).
American Idol Duets Challenge airs on ABC Sunday April 3 at 8 pm ET/PT. Showstopper/Final Judgement airs Monday April 4 at 8 pm ET/PT.
Please refrain from revealing spoilers in comments underneath this post. Thank you.
