Joy Dove auditions; Craig Blankenhorn/FOX(NEW YORK) — American Idol‘s 15th and final season continued Wednesday night with a one-hour show featuring auditions in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Philadelphia. Back behind the judges’ table were Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick, Jr.
The show saw the return of two contestants from last season and the sister of another one of last year’s hopefuls.
Past Idol winners and finalists, including Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Kris Allen, Taylor Hicks and Nick Fradiani, were also on hand to offer advice to this season’s hopefuls.
Baltimore native Miranda “Poh” Scott is following in the footsteps of her sister Shi, who made it into the show’s top 24 last season. Poh got her Idol journey off to a good start by singing Sara Bareilles’ “Fairytale.” Connick thought that while the performance was flawed in spots, other parts of the performance he found “refreshing.” Urban agreed, declaring it was one of the best auditions he’d seen that day. Lopez noted that there was an “abandon” to her style. The performance earned Scott a trip to Hollywood.
Emilia Eisenhauer, from Nashville, plays fiddle in her family band and played it as she auditioned with “Many Rivers to Cross” by Annie Lennox. Jennifer called the rendition a “beautiful performance,” noting in particular the strength of her voice. Harry was also impressed, citing a “mysterious quality,” though he warned Emilia about hitting her notes “squarely.” Keith added that her voice was “extraordinary” and had an unusual tone. All three judges voted “yes” to sending Emilia to Hollywood.
“Put me in the game, coach,” Joy Dove repeated over and over again before and after auditioning with Hank Williams’ classic “Jambalaya.” Harry noted Dove’s spirit and her energy were “absolutely awesome,” adding that she sang loud and he loves that. All three judges did indeed vote to put Joy in the game and send her off to Hollywood.
Mackenzie Bourg got creative for his audition and it paid off. He performed a medley of songs by all three panelists: Urban’s “Stupid Boy,” Connick’s “Come by Me,” J-Lo’s “Love Don’t Cost a Thing,” and, finally, Keith’s “Making Memories of Us.” Harry called the audition “charming and sweet.” He and the other judges also liked the sound of Boyd’s voice and voted to send him to Hollywood.
Jenna Renae auditioned with Eric Paslay’s “She Don’t Love You.” Connick called her a “soulful young woman.” Lopez declared Jenna showed them the “whole package.” Urban was also impressed and joined the others in saying “yes” to advancing Renae to the next round.
Wednesday’s show also saw the return of two season-14 contestants whose journey ended in Hollywood. Adam Lasher gave it one more try with his samba version of Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Connick thought it was a “terrific” rendition of the song. The other judges agreed, and Lasher earned a second chance at becoming the next “American Idol.”
Next it was 16-year-old Emily Brooke, who was eliminated after last season’s House of Blues performance, although the judges told her that they hoped to see her again. She took their advice and auditioned this time with RaeLynn’s “Careless.” Jennifer was the first to declare that Emily “got so much better.” Harry praised the teen for getting a chance to see firsthand what it takes be successful in the business and benefiting from it. He also called it the “best audition of the day.” Brooke earned another ticket to Hollywood and another shot at winning the big prize.
The audition shows conclude Thursday night with a two-hour episode that begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Fox.
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