‘American Idol’: Over Half of the 144 Contestants Are Eliminated as Hollywood Week Begins

Season 23 of American Idol continued with the first round of Hollywood week during Monday (March 31) night’s episode. Three artists — Kolbi Jordan, Filo, and Canaan James Hill — got to skip this round after winning the platinum tickets during their auditions.

Of the 144 remaining hopefuls, only 62 were chosen to move on to the next round, which meant that more than half of the artists were cut by judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan. Everyone gathered at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles to compete in the Idol Arena, where they all gave solo performances.

Scroll down for a recap of the night and find out which recognizable faces will be moving forward to the showstopper round.

Breanna Nix

Breanna Nix was the first to take the stage. She was emotional over leaving her husband and son at home, but was ready to power through since she was doing this for them.

Breanna called her performance song, “You Say” by Lauren Daigle, her “anthem, and several of the other contestants were in tears as she sang. The judges gave her a standing ovation.

“You have such a beautiful voice,” Underwood gushed. “You can feel your heart when you’re speaking. You can feel your heart when you’re singing. Thank you for sharing that with us.’

Ché

England native Ché was in Hollywood for the first time in his life for the competition. He performed “A Song for You” by Donny Hathaway.

“I don’t know whether you can claim England,” Richie admitted. “Sounds more like Atlanta, Georgia, to me. That was just amazing. Loved it.”

Thunderstorm Artis

The Voice alum Thunderstorm Artis opened up about the death of his dad, who died suddenly in his sleep. With the help of music, a gift he said his father gave him, he was able to process that difficult time in his life.”

Thunderstorm sang an original song he wrote for his wife called “My Last Dying Breath,’ and the judges gave him a standing ovation. “You are an artist,” Underwood assured him. “That’s all I got, man. I got nothing. Just more. Give me more of that.”

Crews Wright

Crews Wright got flashbacks to his days in the rodeo arena before his performance. With the hope of keeping traditional country alive in the competition, he sang “Goodbye Time” by Conway Twitty.

The judges couldn’t get over the fact that he is only 17 years old. “I need a birth certificate,” Underwood joked. Bryan added, “Where you are at at this point, you’re just going to grow and do some pretty cool stuff. Watching you win the room is pretty cool stuff. Good job.”

Jamier and Katelyn Myers

For some of the contestants, the feedback wasn’t as positive. After Jamier performed, Bryan told him, “I think the nerves were getting you a little bit.” Katelyn Myers’ performance had Underwood admitting, “You could feel the nerves kind of coming through sometimes.”

Insite

The judges reluctantly gave Insite a golden ticket to Hollywood, despite his affinity toward heavy metal music, which didn’t exactly fit in with American Idol. For Hollywood week, he sang “Rooster” by Alice in Chains, and the superstars appeared to be a bit shell-shocked afterwards.

“The good news here is that your confidence is well intact,” Bryan pointed out.

Lola Bonfiglio

Lola Bonfiglio‘s audition caught the judges attention not only because of her voice, but because of her famous family — her mom is Wilson Phillips singer Carnie Wilson, and her grandfather is The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.

However, this performance of “Birds of a Feather” by Billie Eilish was a bit shaky. As the judges discussed it afterwards in whispers, Bryan said, “There’s a little pitchiness in between almost all the spoken stuff she does.” Underwood agreed. “It’s a confidence thing,” she explained.

Baylee Littrell

The season’s other nepo baby, Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell’s son, Baylee Littrell, had better luck. He sang an original song called “Hey Jesus,” which he wrote after the death of his grandma.

“My grandma was my best friend,” Baylee admitted. “With my dad being away on tour, she would always step in. She understood me like not many people do.”

The judges were incredible moved, and Underwood told Baylee, “You’re so good. Your heart and your genuineness just coming through is so good.”

Carsen Webb

Carsen Webb still had the infectious personality that won the judges over in his audition, but he was ready to prove how serious he is about music. For Hollywood Week, he sang “More Than Able” from Elevation Worship.

“Carsen, I can’t believe you’re 16,” Bryan said. “I think 16 may have caught up with you just then, a little bit. We could tell maybe the nerves were chewing you up. But you did a great job. You did good.”

Mattie Pruitt

At just 15 years old, Mattie Pruitt is the youngest singer in the competition. She admittedly hadn’t done much performing in public before the show, so this was completely new territory for her.

Well, you couldn’t tell. Her performance of “Cold” by Chris Stapleton earned her a standing ovation. “Great job,” Bryan said. “Nothing about that was 15. So many right things going on. You just have a natural ability to have that rasp and that pain and that heart and dragging the notes out and milking the notes.”

He continued, “There’s a lot of stuff you know how to do at 15 that I didn’t. When you hit the first note and Carrie’s like, ‘Oh Lord!’ Really, really great stuff.”

Josh King

Underwood voted no on Josh King’s audition, and he was ready to prove her wrong. Hoping to show the judges that he could break his habit of lounge singing, Josh performed “Hopelessly” by Rick Astley.

“Josh! If you had done that in your audition, you would’ve had three yeses, absolutely,” Underwood gushed. “You have a sweet personality, a sweet demeanor. I wanted you to be great, and you brought some greatness with you today.”

Amanda Barise

Amanda Barise came to Idol to prove that underdogs can win. After being judged in the past on her looks, as opposed to just her talent, she had been scared to come on the show in the past. However, she proved that she totally belonged with her performance of “All I Could Do Was Cry” by Etta James.

The judges gave Amanda a standing ovation. Luke assured her, “You are not an underdog. Quit feeling that way. You need to feel like a queen. You need to feel like a diva.”

Drew Ryn

One artist that really impressed the judges with her performances was Drew Ryn, who sang “Black Friday” by Tom Odell. “Give me more of that!” Richie told Ryn.

Gabby Samone

The judges were also pleased with Gabby Samone’s performance of Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Goin’ Down.” Richie gushed. “That was powerful, and your confidence is frightening. That was very good.”

Sam Sparks

Sam Sparks was admittedly a bit intimidated by the other more powerful singers, but was ready to pursue his dreams that he thought were crushed after a car accident left him paralyzed. He sang “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash.

Although he got off to a shaky start, he ended up finishing the performance on a high note. “What was so endearing is that you weren’t locked in, and then you recognized that you weren’t,” Bryan said. “That’s how I’ve been most of my life. Great job.”

Isaiah Misailegalu

The judges nicknamed Isaiah Misailegalu “Samoan Silk” after his audition, and he was fully embracing it. In the Idol Arena, he sang “Lose Control” by Teddy Swims, and he got a standing ovation.

“Silky smooth,” Underwood said. “You have such a gift. And you’re so confident on the stage and singing to everybody here. So great. I love you.”

Landynn Kennedy

After Landynn Kennedy sang “Her Heart” by Anthony Hamilton, Bryan whispered to the other judges, “It’s not totally precise yet.”

Jamal Roberts

Jamal Roberts also sang “Her Heart,” but he did it a bit differently. He came to Idol with the hopes of bringing light to his town in Mississippi, which had been filled with crime in recent years.

After the judges gave Jamal a standing ovation, Richie told him, “Somewhere between the last time we heard you and now, God has anointed you with something so fantastic and that gave us the opportunity to appreciate his gift to you. That was a brilliant performance.”

Sonny Tennet

Sonny Tennet came all the way from the United Kingdom for Hollywood Week. He sang his own “totally different” version of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” with the hopes of standing out, even though it was a risk.

Bryan was up on his feet dancing during the performance, and the judges applauded with a standing ovation. “I love what you did in your audition, and I really love what you did here,” Richie raved. “You have a style. You did a fabulous job.”

Victor Solomon

Victor Solomon was feeling the pressure coming into Hollywood Week due to the high expectations the judges had for him. After all, Richie told him he’d probably be top 20 after his audition.

Victor performed “Grandma’s Hands” by Bill Withers. “What I love about your performance, it starts off with the right word: attitude,” Richie said. “I love the presentation. It’s a Bill Withers song, but it’s not like you’re singing it like Bill Withers. You made it your song. It was well done.”

Slater Nalley

The final audition of the day was from Slater Nalley. After performing a song dedicated to his teacher’s late son, Carter Davis, at his audition, Slater revealed he was keeping Carter close to him during Hollywood Week, too. Mrs. Davis gave him a necklace with Carter’s ashes in it.

Slater sang another original song, this one called “Foolish Pride,” which he wrote at 15. He earned a standing ovation. “I’m scared. That was so good, I’m scared,” Underwood told him. Afterward, she compared him to Chris Stapleton.

Idol Arena results

The artists were then divided into four rooms to find out their results. Room 1 included Landynn, Insite, Sam, and Carsen. Unfortunately, they did not move on. “To be at this point, you’re certainly worthy enough to be an unbelievable singer, but unfortunately, for American Idol, this is the end of the road for you guys,” Bryan explained.

Some of the artists in room 2 were Slater, Amanda, Thunderstorm, Jamal, Breanna, MKY, and Sonny. This group did move forward. “When you have everybody with equal talent, we have a serious problem,” Richie admitted. “So we have to deliver the news. You’re going to the next round.”

Room 3, which included Freddie McClendon, Pat Johnson, and Lola, found out they were not moving onto the showstopper round. “I had my favorites and you’re all in this room and you gave everybody hell,” Richie began. “But we had a choice to make. I’m going to tell you that this group is not going forward.”

That left Room 4, including Baylee, Victor, Crews, josh, Nina Daig, Drew, and Mattie. They were given the green light to move on. “Going for your dream, putting it all out there, you don’t know when or if you’re going to be coming home,” Underwood said. “I’ve got some bad news for you … you’re going to be away from home longer.”

American Idol, Season 23, Mondays and Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC