American Idol 2022 Hollywood Week moves on to the “Duets Challenge.” The three Platinum Ticket holders–HunterGirl, Jay Copeland and Kenedi Anderson rejoin the competition after sitting out “Genre Challenge.”
While the judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan will choose duet pair-ups for the remaining contestants, the Platinum Ticket holders will handpick their own partners. Check out more on the pairings HERE. The judges are mentoring the duets.
At the end of the round, the remaining 69 contestants move on to Showstopper/Final judgement. That round airs Monday (April 4). In the episode, the judges will reveal the Top 24.
Bunches of spoilers, but please don’t reveal results in the comments below! Keep spoilers under the spoiler post.
American Idol 2022: Full Season 20 Schedule
Spoilers: Top 24 Season 20 Contestant List
What Did Top 24 Sing in Hawaii? (Spoilers)
Showstopper Contestant List and Song Choices (Spoilers)
Leah Marlene and Fritz Hager – Team Green
Locked out of Heaven – Leah is a better singer than Fritz. She really pops. Her phrasing and personality are wonderful. But they are good duet partners. They genuinely like each other and seem to click. But she’s the star here.
Lionel thinks the whole is better than the individual parts. AGAIN LIONEL IS BAD AT THE FAKE OUT. Leah and Fritz are both through
Kenedi Anderson picks Jordan Chase
Lean on Me by Bill Withers – Their first rehearsal is “very messy.” Jordan struggles with nerves. Kenedi seems very irritated. Right to his face she says “I hope I made the right choice. Lionel steps in to mentor, advising the pair to “relax.” Kenedi is worried she won’t be able to step her game up. He’s a good singer. I like his tone. Kenedi has the stronger voice, but I’m drawn to Jordan. He is an interesting singer with great phrasing and texture. She’s trying too hard. Shouty McShouterson.
Luke says they had some hiccups and fumbles. Katy thinks they made magic together. Kenedi and Jordan are both through
Allegra Miles and Taylor Fagins – Satin Soul
Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars – Allegra is a former The Voice contestants. In his Idol audition, Taylor had everyone crying with a song he wrote dedicated to victims of police violence. He understands that he oversings sometimes, and works to scale that back. Their voices aren’t a good match. But Allegra sings with beautiful phrasing. When she’s in tune.
Blah blah blah from Lionel. Mr. word salad. Allegra advances, Taylor is eliminated
HunterGirl chooses Cole Ritter – Backwood Mac
Dreams by Fleetwood Mac – The video package frames her duet choice like she picked Cole because she had a crush on him. She’s appalled at the thought. She loves his voice, that’s all. Luke mentors the two. Cole is making his Idol debut tonight. Their voices blend really well. It’s too bad the show kept Cole and his retro Americana style under wraps. The performance gets better and better as it goes on.
The judges loved from them both HunterGirl and Cole both go through
Sam Moss and Hayley Slaten – Watermelon Smugglers
Dancing on My Own by Robyn – Both are expecting babies. Hoo boy. Sam returned to another city after bombing in her first audition. Hayley married a contestant she met on Idol, but the show doesn’t address their whirlwind relationship. Viewers do meet her baby before the show cuts to commercial, however. Recent mom Katy mentors the future moms. Everyone is crying. Individually they are solid, but their harmonies are dicey. They aren’t blending well. The solos are good, the singing together not so much.
Katy believes Sam is finding herself. She loves Hayley’s tone. But she’s cut. Sam advances, Hayley is eliminated.
Jay Copeland picks Morgan Gruber – M&J
Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper – Jay let Morgan pick a song he didn’t know very well. That’s the way to wield that platinum ticket advantage! Not! Hard to believe he didn’t know that super popular song. The vocal coach advises them not to start at 100. Morgan explains plot points from the movie “A Star Is Born” as Jay struggles. Nevertheless, Jay got it together for the performance. Morgan looks at Jay during the performance, but he doesn’t look at her until the end. Overally, they needed to connect better.
Katy says “we need more from you…you need to find that next level…in the next round.” Jay and Morgan go through
Olivia Faye and Noah Thompson
July by Noah Cyrus – Initially, they work up a country rendition of Lean on Me by Bill Withers that they both feel good about. The vocal coach doesn’t like it, however. She tells them to go back to the list and pick a country song. They have a difficult time finding a new pick, and eventually settle on July by Noah Cyrus. The two felt confident with their first song. Now they don’t feel confident at all. Did the vocal coach manipulate them to create “good” TV drama? Noah checks in with his family for support. Both singers seem so unsure as they perform, especially Noah. There’s weird pitchy stuff throughout.
Luke says it wasn’t Noah’s best performance. The vocal coach gave them bad advice. Lucky for them, they go through anyway. Olivia and Noah go through
Tristen Gressett and Cameron Whitcomb – Both Crazy
Have You Ever Seen the Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival – They are both high strung artists. Things could get crazy, Cameron admits he has very little experience. Tristen, an experienced musician, seems annoyed. But once they hit the stage, they’re pretty good. Their voices are well suited and they picked a good song. They re-arrange the second verse, making it jazzier. Tristen is doing most of the heavy lifting, but Cameron is hanging in there.
The judges are on their feet. Lionel is especially impressed. Cameron and Tristen are both through
Kevin Gullage and Yoli Mayor
Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better from Annie Get Your Gun – Sounds like the cringiest song choice ever, right? Somehow, the two turn the old Broadway classic into a jazzy delight. Kevin goes nuts on the keys. It’s a funny and fun performance. Ha ha. Luke Bryan starred in a high school production of Annie Get Your Gun. Kevin and Yoli are both through
Scarlet Ayliz and Douglas Mills – Mix Match
Rewrite the Stars from Greatest Showman – Scarlet explains they are nothing alike, but they get along. Douglas chose the song. But he’s having trouble remembering the lyrics. Scarlet is stressed out and embarrassed. She’s so upset, she takes off her mic and walks away. She disappears and explains later that she needed time to sort herself out. When they finally hit the stage, they at least sing to each other. She’s better prepared than he is, though. And a better singer.
The judges agree that the song wasn’t right for them. Katy feels Douglas hasn’t been great since his audition. Nevertheless, they both move on. Scarlet and Douglas are both through
Cole Hallman and Cadence Baker – C Major
How Sweet it Is to be Love By You by Marvin Gaye – They met in Nashville. Cole played guitar with Cadence’s dad who is also a musician. Cadence misses her family a lot. Cole makes Tik Toks with his autistic sister. She loves the song. Both decide not to be as ambitious as they planned. They are both so tired, they don’t want to screw up. The performance is boring. Cadence is a disappointment compared to her incredible audition. They liven up on the last verse, however. Cole admits that his voice is going.
Luke calls the performance underwhelming, and feels that Cadence has declined since her audition. They decide to part ways with Cole and keep Cadence. He’s crying. The end of that performance saved her. – Cole is eliminated, Cadence advances.
Christian Guardino and Nicolina Bozzo – Cantante Forte
The Prayer by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli – American Idol leaked this performance a few days ago. Both are very happy with the pairing. During rehearsal, Christian struggled a little. Nicolina supports him with a pep talk. Lionel advises them not to overdo. “Listen to each other.” Christian is nervous because he hasn’t sung with other people much. But once they hit the stage, they deliver the best duet of the night so far. They really connect on and off stage and play off each other beautifully.
Lionel dumps a bunch of unnecessary words before putting them both through. Christian and Nicolina go through.
Betty Maxwell and Kelsie Dolin – Mining for Peaches
Give Me a Reason by Pink – The girl from the boondocks and Miss America are paired together. The incongruity was the thing behind the pairing, surely. Kelsie has never harmonized and is intimidated. Betty is being very kind, taking the young singer under her wing. She adds choreography to the performance. Kelsie is even more nervous. She’s still struggling with confidence. Once again, Kelsie is frozen with fear. During rehearsal, Katy tries to help her calling her a “diamond in the rough.” The two are really mismatched. Betty is very…dramatic. The ultimate pageant queen. Kelsie is rough. She has a good tone, but she’s tentative. Their energies don’t match. The judges love it, though.
The judges are on their feet. Lionel is CRYING. Hm. He believes she broke through with that performance. Katy agrees. Both are through to the next round. – Betty and Kelsie go through
Find out who made the Showstopper round (with song spoilers) HERE.
