‘American Idol’ 2025 Premiere: First Platinum Ticket Is Awarded After Auditions From a Viral Star & More

Season 23 of American Idol is officially underway! After the first three auditions aired in a special following The Oscars on March 2, the first full episode followed on Sunday, March 9. Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie had tough decisions to make as they watched performers in New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville.

As always, there were a bunch of incredible performers, and others who didn’t quite meet the standard to move on in the competition. The judges gave out golden tickets to the next round in Hollywood, and one lucky singer even received the first platinum ticket of the season. Those with platinum tickets get to skip the first week of competition in Hollywood.

Scroll down for a full recap of all the Episode 1 auditions!

Kolbi Jordan

Kolbi Jordan made an immediate impression with her outgoing personality. The 26-year-old people and cultural generalist (which, she explained, just means she works in human resources) from Tulsa, Oklahoma, sang “Epiphany” by Chrisette Michele.

She revealed that she’s a huge Patti LaBelle fan, and Richie was so impressed by her audition that he got Ms. LaBelle on the phone afterwards. “My dream is to have the two of you standing side-by-side,” he said. Kolbi received unanimous yeses from the judges.

Her journey in the first stage wasn’t over yet, though. Later, the judges invited her to give a performance at a Tennessee Titans game. Then, they surprised her with the first platinum ticket of the season!

Breanna Nix

Breanna Nix, a 25-year-old stay-at-home mom from Denton, Texas, had her adorable son accompany her to the audition. While she sang and her husband played piano, little Emerson sat on Underwood’s lap and watched.

After opening up about how much her son changed her life by inspiring her to lose weight after she reached 315 pounds, Breanna sang a beautiful rendition of Underwood’s song “Jesus Take the Wheel.” The country singer was moved to tears. “It was an honor to listen to you sing that song,” she said.

Richie admitted he was “a little worried at first,” but couldn’t have been more impressed once the nerves settled in. Breanna received a golden ticket.

Joey Ciccone

Joey Ciccone, a 27-year-old singer/songwriter from Utica, New York, struggled a bit in his audition. While singing “Falling” by Harry Styles, he forgot the words. “I honestly feel kind of sick,” he told the judges.

Bryan and Richie rushed to Joey’s side to try and calm him down, and Underwood gave him some words of encouragement. The result of his audition was not revealed.

Crews Wright

Aspiring country star Crews Wright, a 17-year-old high school student from Alabama, had the judges wrapped around his finger before he even sang a note. After some flirting with Underwood — during which she told him, “I’m old enough to be your mama!” — he performed “Fireman” by George Strait.

The judges were impressed and Bryan even got on his feet to duet on the track with the teenager, which earned a standing ovation from Richie. “You’re going places, son,” Richie said. “I don’t even think we need to waste time.” Needless to say, Crews received a unanimous “yes!”

Isaiah Misailegalu

Next up was another high school student. Isaiah Misailegalu hailed from Las Vegas, Nevada, and opened up about his Samoan family. Although he said he’s been “singing all [his] life,” he revealed that he’d only just begun performing in public within the past year.

With his Uncle Luigi on guitar, Isaiah sang “A Song for You” by Donny Hathaway and blew away the judges. “You are not 17 years old. You are not in high school. You did not just start singing in front of people this year,” Underwood insisted. “There’s no way I believe any of that. It sounds like you’ve been doing it forever.”

Richie gushed, “You borrowed Donny’s song, but that’s your song now.” It was a resounding, “Yes!” from all three superstars.

Kam’Ron Smith

Kam’Ron Smith, a 21-year-old sprinkler installer and farmer from Virginia, performed “Pickup Man” by Joe Diffie. The judges praised him for making the song his own and bringing “character” to the performance. It was another unanimous “yes.”

Insite

Insite (yes, that’s his stage name) is a heavy metal singer who did something much different from the rest of the contestants when he sang Korn‘s “Freak on a Leash.” The 18-year-old drum and vocal instructor from Florida impressed the judges, although they were admittedly confused about where he might fit in on the show.

“You kind of have your own little thing, but I still don’t know vocally…” Bryan said. When Underwood asked if Insite had a “softer” song to sing, his only backup was “Bodies” by Drowning Pool. She was into it, though, and even got up to sing with him (yes, she knew the words).

In the end, all three judges said yes to sending Insite to Hollywood, although Bryan was a bit reluctant.

Baylee Littrell

Baylee Littrell, the 22-year-old son of Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell, sang an emotional original song called “Waiting on Myself to Die.” His dad was waiting in the wings as he performed.

“Obviously, growing up in the industry, a lot of people would look at that as a perk, but it’s not easy,” Brian shared. “I’ve always told everybody that he’s 10 times more talented than I ever was.”

The judges clearly agreed that Baylee had talent. “You’re really good. Like, really good,” Underwood told him. When they invited Brian in to duet on the track, Underwood was even more impressed. “For anyone else, this might make them look bad, but that was not the case. You didn’t pale, you didn’t shy away. You were like, ‘This is my moment,'” she pointed out.

Bryan and Richie were on the same page and everybody gave Baylee a yes to the golden ticket.

Lillie Z. Rhoden

Meridian, Mississippi, native Lillie Z. Rhoden, a 20-year-old musician, received a yes from Richie and a no from Bryan, which left Underwood to make the final decision. “I think you deserve a chance to go in there and shake things up, so I’m a yes,” she concluded. Two votes was all Lillie needed and she was onto Hollywood!

Shane Dan Turner

Shane Dan Turner had a similar fate. The 28-year-old singer/songwriter from Far Rockaway, New York, got a yes from Bryan and a no from Richie, but Underwood once again sent him off to Hollywood with a second yes.

Pat Johnson

Pat Johnson is a 25-year-old case worker and massive American Idol fan from Stratford, New Jersey. He put his Idol knowledge to the test in a game show battle against Underwood, but sadly lost to the show veteran. Still, he didn’t falter when he had to get up and sing right after.

Pat performed his original song “Need It,” and the judges were admittedly a bit confused about what lane he might move forward in. “It all boils down to song selection. If you get the right song selection all the way through this, you have your own identity all the way through this, and I think you got something to work with,” Richie said.

Bryan felt like Pat needed too much work and “polishing up and cleaning up” before he would be ready for the show. He gave Pat a no, but Richie and Underwood voted yes, although Underwood made sure to warn Pat that he may be a little fish in a big pond once he got to the next round with more mainstream artists.

Ché

Hailing all the way from Essex, England, 28-year-old Ché sang “Mirror” by Madison Ryann Ward. With three children excitedly waiting for him at home, Ché gave a solid performance and earned three yeses to move onto Hollywood.

Gabby Samone

Gabby Samone, a 28-year-old child care specialist from Baltimore, Maryland, went viral in 2020 thanks to a singing video she posted online. The post was even noticed by Jennifer Hudson, who invited Gabby onto her talk show. In fact, the American Idol alum was the one who urged Gabby to audition for the show when she reached out about possibly doing so.

The judges loved Gabby’s performance of “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin. “You just look like a little star and sing like a big ol’ star,” Bryan raved. Underwood added, “Once you start talking and singing, you get some confidence. I love how I feel like you’re a diamond that we just need to polish a little bit.” It was a unanimous yes for Gabby.

Ian Ward

Ian Ward sang “I Want to Know What Love Is” by Foreigner. The 28-year-old performer from San Diego, California, had a “very theatrical” voice, which Bryan said he “typically doesn’t gravitate to.” However, when Bryan stood up and tried to have a sing-off with Ian, he was immediately proven wrong.

In the end, all three judges voted yes for Ian to get a golden ticket.

Abi Bowen

Abi Bowen watched American Idol for years, but only had the guts to audition herself after her mom, who also loved the show, passed away. The 24-year-old stay-at-home mom who lives on a farm in Tennessee had never performed publicly before her audition. She was extremely nervous.

Abi wore sunglasses while she sang “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt and even faced away from the judges to calm her nerves. Since she didn’t open her eyes during the performance, she didn’t even notice when Bryan, Richie, and Underwood got out of their seats and walked to stand in front of her.

Bryan pointed out that Loretta Lynn’s granddaughter Emmy Russell, who was on Season 22, also struggled with nerves and wound up coming out of her shell. Underwood warned Abi that she has “a lot of work to do” to gain confidence for the upcoming rounds, but her voice was too good to say no to. Abi earned three yeses.

Slater Nalley

In one of the most emotional moments of the night, 17-year-old student Slater Nalley from Atlanta, Georgia, was introduced to the judges by his music teacher. Her son had died in 2016 and Slater penned an original song about him based on a poem that the teacher had written.

Slater performed the original tune “Traces of You,” and brought Underwood to tears. Everyone was incredibly moved by the performance, which earned Slater three yeses and a trip to Hollywood.

American Idol, Season 23, Sundays, 8/7c, ABC