American Idol Recap: The final auditions

Hollywood Week on American Idol continues Sunday night at 8/7c on ABC and stream next day on Hulu

ByBob Monek OTRC logo
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
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HOLLYWOOD -- The final round of auditions began with 1 platinum ticket remaining - a chance to not only get to Hollywood but also skip a round.

The opening audition tonight featured Tobias, a middle school chorus teacher from North Carolina who is chasing his dream. He's a native of a small town of 89 people and told the judges that he wants to do it all!

His jacket earned Tobias some style points before he sat down at the piano to perform Stevie Wonder's "Knocks Me Off My Feet."

Tobias also showed off some impressive dance moves after performing.

Morgan Gruber comes from a small town in Fombell, Pennsylvania where she lives on a big 12-acres where she hunts and fishes every day.

Tired of looking at all those cornfields, this 17-year-old high school student is taking her shot at becoming the next Idol. She said her grandmother who passed away inspired her to audition.

Morgan has a smooth-sounding voice and a style all her own that earned a standing ovation from the judges.

"That was amazing," Katy Perry said.

"I looked at Katy's sheet. It said top 20. My sheet says top 20," Luke Perry said.

Kimmie has been dreaming of trying out for American Idol since growing up singing Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway" in her bathroom. Now she wants to show her daughter Lily that anything is possible.

She's also a Luke Bryan superfan, and got a hug from him tonight.

We don't often see couples auditioning for 'American Idol' but Kaylin Roberson of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Matt Gorman of Philadelphia gave it their best shot by performing an original song for the judges.

They have been performing together in their new hometown of Nashville and their chemistry showed during their audition, but only one would get a ticket to Hollywood.

18-year-old Saylor from Oklahoma had a music video go viral when she was younger. She's struggled with the personal loss of her father, who left her mom for another woman. Saylor's emotion poured out during her audition as she performed a song for her dad. So much so she earned the second hug of the night from Luke Bryan.

The most dramatic audition of the night came when an intruder caused some anxious moments, but turns out to be a prank on Luke Bryan.

Cameron Whitcomb from Canada was hard to understand when he spoke but he could do backflips! He's never had any vocal lessons, never sang in front of people, and gave a surprise performance of "Rock Salt and Nails."

Emyrson Flora has just been making music videos from her bedroom so the odds of making it to Hollywood seemed long. The judges had to decide whether to roll the dice on this "raw" talent.

Sir Blayke is from Chicago but he's lived in LA for the past several years. He's had a tough journey chasing his dream. He began singing solo when he was 8 years old and began chasing his dream right out of high school, moving to Atlanta with just $100 in his pocket.

He's still struggling in Los Angeles but he's hoping American Idol turns around his fortunes.

Carly Mickeal says a lot of her inspiration and creativity come from her dad, who is a musician. He accompanied the 23-year-old dog groomer during her audition.

Jay Copeland graduated from college with a degree in music and now he's pursuing his dream of becoming the next Idol after getting an ultimatum from his grad school.

He performed Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" for his audition and had Katy Perry dancing.

He was so good that he earned that special Platinum Ticket to Hollywood!

The final audition of the night featured a ballet dancer. Morgan Gruber has been performing in Germany since graduating from high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, but he's also always loved singing. He started posting videos on Instagram and that's what landed him in the Idol auditions.

Watch the next American Idol on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/PT | 7 p.m. CT on your local ABC station and the next day on Hulu.

"American Idol" is returning for its landmark 20th season on Sunday, Feb. 27. Watch the newly released trailer here.