It’s another exciting night of American Idol on ABC tonight with an all-new Sunday, April 6, 2025, season 8 episode 7 called “Hollywood Week: Showstopper” and we have your weekly American Idol recap below.
On tonight’s American Idol season 8 episode 7 as per the ABC synopsis,“American Idol” competitors bring their A-game in the “Showstopper” episode, delivering powerful performances that could make or break their journey to fame. Jelly Roll joins as the first artist in residence to guide them along the way.”
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Humans often doubt themselves. This goes double for Hollywood Week. Up first was Victor Solomon. He’s been pursuing music for a while now and he could have let being first trip him up, but he didn’t. He performed “In the Air Tonight”. His rendition was more soulful. His first couple of runs instantly grabbed everyone’s attention. He took people to church and his performance was a great way to kick off the night. The Food Director was definitely going places. The next contestant up was the youngest of the night.
Mattie Pruitt was still baby faced. She was fifteen. She grew up in a large family. She doesn’t think anyone really understands her back home and so she auditioned for American Idol. She made herself stand out. She has since watched people come alive onstage. It made her nervous about her own capabilities. Which was why she chose a difficult song. She chose “This Is A Man’s World”. She proved she was a powerhouse with that song and the judges were left stunned by this kid. They couldn’t wait to hear more from her.
Next up was Kolbi Jordan. She was a Platinum ticket holder. She wanted to reassure the judges that they made a good choice tonight and there were issues. She struggled at first with the song she chose. Most of the problems happened during the rehearsals. She was going one way and the band was going another. They luckily were able to work out the big differences. Kolbi’s rendition of “River Deep, Mountain High” wasn’t her best. It was still strong. It just sounded like the band wasn’t fully lock in step with the rest of the song. And it will be up to the judges if they decide to hold it against her.
Then came Isiah Misailegalu. He was another one that chose a difficult song. He chose “What Hurts the Most”. He had to decide if he was going to slow it down or use the full band for it. He chose to slow it down. He also lowered his own register to match it. He has a good voice only he was nervous tonight. The judges could tell. They also knew he usually gives much stronger performances. He played it safe tonight and that might cost him. The upside to tonight was that his family was in the audience. They all hugged him after his performance and he still has their support.
Next up was Brianna Nix. She was a stay at home mother. She didn’t have a dad in her life. It made her feel insecure as a kid and then her husband came along. He builds her up. She would have given up on herself a long time ago if it hadn’t been for him. Brianna chose the song “The Trouble with Love”. It was an American Idol Alumni song. It was Kelly Clarkson’s. Yet, she did it justice. She managed to hold on and that earned recognition from the judges. They might keep her around just because of her performance.
Drew Ryn was next. She admitted she had a lot to prove tonight. The arena round was intense for her. She said she wasn’t at her best back then and she wanted to redeem herself tonight. She chose to open her rendition of “You Were Always On My Mind” with acapella. The band came in later. It was a quite brave of her to do so. There were so many things that could have gone wrong and didn’t. She gave a solid performance tonight. Lionel said it was great from start to finish.
Up next was Jamal Roberts. It had been tough on him to leave his two girls in Mississippi. He struggled with that and the one thing that kept him going was that he knew he could provide a better life for them if he were to win American Idol. For tonight, he chose the song “Tennessee Whiskey”. He reconnected with his country roots. There were some good parts. There were also parts that left room for improvement. The judges discussed him after he left the stage. They said he missed a few points and they still liked him because they knew what he was capable of was better than tonight’s performance.
Though no one was more country than Kam’ron Smith. From his accent to the fact he’s never played with a band before – he was country. His rendition of “Makin Me Look Good” was good. It would have been better if he had remembered all the words. He definitely beat himself up after that only people need to know how to perform with a band if they hope to make it to the end of the competition. Kam’ron had plenty of company with people having a bad night. He wasn’t even alone in forgetting lyrics. It’s just that others tried to hide it with run-ons.
Next up was Amanda Barise. She has experience performing with a live band. Its actually gives her confidence to have them with her and she also received an additional boost. She said that Arena reassured her like nothing else could. She therefore marched onstage tonight at her best. She performed “Ain’t Nobody”. It was such a strong performance from her that she received a standing ovation from the judges. Everyone loved this performance. She might just win it all if she keeps getting better like this.
Desmond Roberts was up next. He proved to be the rock star of the night when he chose the song “Barracuda”. The judges were worried about that one note and he surprised them all when he carried perfectly. He managed to combine three versions of the same song into one rendition. He was so great that he was another standing ovation tonight. They weren’t sure during the beatbox. Only he managed to tie back in so well and that’s what saved him. It was tough to go on after Desmond.
Next up was John Foster. He was another country boy. John performed “In Color”. He was another one better with a band. He delivered on giving true Country. The judges loved him and there’s no telling how far he’ll go. After him, was Zaylie Windsor. Luke gave her a no during her audition. He didn’t think she was ready. It was the other judges that took a chance on her, but she still wanted to impress them all tonight. She chose the song “Happier Than Ever”. She went back and forth on what to do during rehearsals. She let nerves get in the way then. And surprised everyone when she just went out and killed it onstage.
The judges were already saying she was top ten material. Being a singer/songwriter helps. It helps more than people thought it would. It helped Zaylie. It also helped Slater Nalley. Slater performed original songs for the most part. He performed “Ophelia” tonight. He worked with the band to find his own voice. It was very true to him. The judges also didn’t mind that he added dancing to his repertoire. Slater didn’t want them to think he works only with a guitar in hand and so he came out of hiding tonight.
The contestants all have their reasons why they auditioned for the show. Most of them wanted to support their families with something they love doing. Mky was one of those people. He wanted to honor his heritage tonight. He performed “Sabor A Mi”. He performed it entirely in Spanish. It was a quite risk and yet there were plenty of people following along. The judges also love his guitar work. He had never shown that side before. They just wish he’d relax a little more because right now he was the perfect Ken doll.
Next up was Gabby Samone. She wanted to truly represent tonight. She wanted to show other young black girls that they have a place onstage. Her words. She chose the song “Four Women” and it was amazing. It was flawless. It was also very much Jazz. It was probably the best version of that genre the whole night. Gabby made herself memorable in a very good way. There were other contestants during the commercial break and they often forgot why they were onstage. Some thought it was to make the crowd dance. Others wanted to just have fun themselves.
Sure, singing should always be fun for the artist. Else it just becomes another job but it also was about a connection that the artist has with the audience. Thunderstorm Artis was one of the few that remembered that tonight. He performed “Imagine”. He didn’t have the band for the most part. He let himself be almost solo with his guitar. He left a better impression that way. The song didn’t require much vocally and somehow Thunderstorm managed to hold everyone’s attention. He had all eyes on him. And it was up to the judges to determine if that was enough.
Olivier Bergeron was up next. He performed “Like A Stone”. He was another rock star. He was more grunge rock than 80s rock. He also surprised everyone with his performance tonight. The judges literally didn’t know where he came from. They were asking themselves that. Carrie has been looking for a rock star all night and Luke told Olivier he was it. The Canadian Frenchman was a standout. They especially loved his growl. And last up Canaan James Hill.
Canaan was another Platinum ticket. The judges saw greatness him at the start and he didn’t want him to disappoint them or leave room for doubt. He chose the song “Never Would Have Made it”. It was a gospel song. Canaan took people to church with it. He had the strongest voice of the night. Luke has never seen or heard anyone like him before. They were all giving him a standing ovation during his song. They didn’t even wait for it to end. He was that good and he was just seventeen. He was an easy choice.
The best part of the night was followed by the scariest part of the night. They found out if they made it to the next round or not. Canaan, Gabby, Zaylie, Maddie were the first to make it to the top twenty-four. There were twenty spots left after them. The judges told everyone tonight that the final decision for the other spots would be determined tomorrow night. And they brought in Jelly Roll to act as their mentor for those suddenly have to come up with another song.
THE END
