American Idol Nepo Babies Continue! Hopeful Lola is the grandchild of Beach Boy Brian Wilson and Daughter of Wilson-Phillips Carnie Wilson
American Idol loves them some nepo babies! After Baylee Littrell, the son of Backstreet Boy member Brian Littrell auditioned for judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan a couple of weeks ago, comes Lola Bonfiglio, who descends from two generations of pop music royalty.
Just like Baylee before her, Nola is accompanied by her famous relatives including Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson, sisters who were part of the early 90’s vocal group, Wilson-Phillips with Michele Phillips and John Phillips’ daughter, Chynna Phillips. Lola’s father, Rob Bonfiglio, is also a musician (and still married to mom!)
In a short clip released by American Idol, Wendy, Carnie and Lola sing the massive Wilson-Phillips hit, “Hold On For One More Day” as a star-struck Carrie Underwood looks on and eventually sings along.
UPDATE: Adding full audition. Lola sang Kacey Musgraves’ “Rainbow.” Lola isn’t a strong singer but the judges said yes anyway. And unbelievably, the clip NEVER mentioned her grandfather, whom I write all about below.
Lola’s grandfather is Beach Boy founder (and musical genius!) Brian Wilson
That’s all well and good! But we have not EVEN begun to dig into Nola’s storied family history. Her grandfather is Brian Wilson, who along with his brothers Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson, cousin Mike Love and childhood friend Al Jardine formed the iconic band, The Beach Boys.
The Beach Boys popularized surf music in the 60s, making the sport and California trendy. The band had a string of No. 1 hits and even managed to hold on as The Beatles and the British Invasion took over the airwaves. That would be impressive enough if that were all. But Brian wrote, arranged and produced The Beach Boys records, utilizing jazz inspired vocal arrangements and innovative production techniques that influenced generations of pop musicians.
The band’s 1966 album Pet Sounds tops many critics’ best of lists. The album was so influential that it lit a fire under The Beatles who promptly entered the studio to create Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. A side note: “God Only Knows” from Pet Sounds is a singing show fan favorite to cover.
Lola and her family performed on The Kelly Clarkson Show
On her Instagram page, Lola mentions an appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2021 where she, her mom and sister and Kelly sang with Brian (who sang remotely from home). “I am so so so excited to finally share that a dream i’ve had since i was very little has come true,” Lola wrote. “Not only did i get to sing with the absolutely incredible @kellyclarkson, but i was also able to share a really beautiful moment with my mom, aunt, and grandpa singing one of his most special songs God Only Knows. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.”
The show taped during Covid, when families were reuniting after being apart for months.
She can sing anybody in this family under the table, Carnie has said of Lola
In an interview with People magazine earlier this year, Carnie said of her 18 year old daughter Lola, who often joins her on stage, “To stand beside Lola and hear that voice, her voice is so beautiful. She can sing anybody in this family under the table. I can’t get over it. I get emotional when I’m on stage, so I have to look the other way. I can’t look at her because I’ll be like, ‘Holy s—. This is my daughter.’ To hear her sing and the audience being moved by her singing [is] one of the best feelings in my life that I’ve ever felt.”
Wilson-Phillips competed on The Masked Singer
One more fun thing: Wilson-Phillips competed on season 8 of The Masked Singer as Lambs. They became the first group act to advance to the finale and finished as the runners-up to Amber Riley as Harp.
