Hollywood Week continued on American Idol last night.
After last week’s genre challenge, the remaining contestants had to sing duets with their competition for day two. This was the first time in Idol history that a duet challenge was implemented during Hollywood Week. For some of the duos, only one singer made it through. Judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie had to make some tough cuts.
First up were Louis Knight and Francisco Martin, who sang “Break Even.” Martin had trouble remembering his lyrics but both of them made it through to the next round.
Franklin Boone and Jordan Moyes sang “Use Somebody,” but only Boone advanced. Lauren Mascitti advanced, but her duet partner Leon Majcen did not. Cameron Havens stood out in a duet of “Shallow” with Ren Patrick. Patrick did not move forward. And between Hannah Prestige and Grace Lee, only Lee was sent through by the judges.
Duos who made it through together included Jimmy Levy and Nick Merico as well as Isa Pena and Olivia Ximines. Aliana Jester and YZThasinger both advanced as did Faith Bechnel and Jovin Webb. Landen Starkman and Perrin York both advanced along with Genavieve Linkowski and Travis Finlay.
There was some drama throughout the episode as well. Madison Paige couldn’t find her duet partner Peyton Aldridge to practice. Aldridge also last minute decided to play his guitar for the performance without running it by his partner. Despite all the drama, they both advanced.
In other dramatic pairings, Zack Dobbins and Courtney Timmons couldn’t decide on a song to sing together. They finally settled on “Dangerous Woman,” but they were both eliminated.
More duets got split up, including Jeb Vonderbrugge and Alyssa Fair. Only Vonderbrugge moved forward. The couple who auditioned together – Kat Lopez and Alex Garrido – sang together again, but only Lopez advanced.
Margie Mays and Jonny West, who are also dating, sang together. In their case, they both advanced. Makayla Phillips and Cyniah Elise both sailed through to the next round along with Elyjuh Rene, Kimmy Gabriela, Evan Kuriga, Dillon James, Lauren Spencer and Makayla Brownlee.
The last two duets of the episode also brought a little drama. Robert Taylor and Tito Rey became friends on the show, but they couldn’t really blend well as vocalists. Rey was cut while Taylor moved on. As for Just Sam and Sheniel Misonet, the pressure started to get to Just Sam. But Maisonet gave her pep talk and they both pulled themselves together and both advanced.
The final night of Hollywood Week on American Idol is next Monday, when singers face a solo round.
While many shows have been put on hold during the coronavirus pandemic, Idol is still in the pre-taped part of its ongoing season. New episodes will continue to air until March 30th, when the second part of the “Hawaii Showcase” airs. Production was suspended for upcoming episodes and contestants were sent home to their families on Wednesday.