Season 24 Ohana Round Recap

Just when we thought singing competition shows couldn’t get any more emotionally manipulative, “American Idol” introduced the ‘Ohana Round, forcing the Top 30 to sing tributes directly to their loved ones in the audience — and we’re sad to say that some of our favorite competitors caved under pressure.

By rules of the ‘Ohana Round, the March 9 episode introduced a new voting system into the competition: three different groups — the contestants, their family members, and a group of “industry experts” (aka influencers with a combined 150 million followers) — were able to give Platinum Tickets to the three singers, all of whom are guaranteed a spot in the live shows. The remaining 27 contestants’ fates were then left in the hands of the judges. 

We fully agreed with the Platinum Ticket winners, and while we wish that some of the eliminated contestants were returning next week, we can’t deny that even some of our favorites faltered this week. In case you couldn’t tell by the multiple cuts to waves crashing against the shoreline, the pressure was on this week.

Read on for a breakdown of the 20 singers moving forward in the competition, as well as the 10 singers whose “Idol” journeys came to an end this week. When you’re finished, vote for your five (5) favorite performances of the night and drop a comment with your thoughts on the overall results. Did the judges make the right calls?

It was a big night for Jordan McCullough, who was not only the first contestant to perform in front of the judges, but also the first person to receive one of the three coveted Platinum Tickets. Dedicated to his family, he chose to deliver a sizzling serving of Bill Withers’ “Grandma’s Hands,” and all three voting groups were devouring his every word. The stank! The soul! This man is an absolute force of nature with a microphone in his hand. And those final runs? Come on, man, now you’re just making everybody else look bad. Beyond being incredibly talented, McCullough is a consumate showman and pure joy to watch on stage. The fact that he received this ticket from his fellow “Idol” contestants says even more about his character.

TVLine’s grade: “A”

We’ll start by saying how much we loved watching all of the newcomers — especially the music “experts” — react to the sound of Brooks’ voice for the first time. The sheer uniqueness of his sound had them on the edge of their seats, and in true Brooks fashion, he did not disappoint their suddenly lofty expectations. Dedicating his performance of Noah Kahan’s “Everywhere Everything” to his family (because “family is everywhere and they mean everything”), Brooks had the entire audience in stunned silence as he breezed his way through the emotional number. At one point, he sang a run so slick and beautiful, it was almost like a yodel. The judges’ only critique, which we fully support, is that Brooks needs to work on his confidence on stage. We’ve enjoyed everything Brooks has given us so far, but we are curious to see his full potential realized on stage. Could we even handle it?! We’ll have the chance to find out, thanks to the contestants’ families sending Brooks through to the live shows with their Platinum Ticket.

Grade: “A”

This was the performance of the night. Hands down. Full stop. An expert storyteller with the angelic vocal pipes to back up her words, Kyndal Inskeep set a new standard of excellence with “Woman of Me,” an original song she wrote about her mother. You could feel every ounce of emotion in her voice, which took us to places we never expected. And let’s talk about that song: “She was a girl before she was a woman, now she’s made a woman of me”?! We basically spent Inskeep’s entire performance bouncing between gasping at her singing and gasping at her lyrics. Either way, we’re totally out of breath. The fact that the “industry experts” was the group who voted for her makes me think I judged them too quickly. This performance truly made women of us all.

TVLine’s grade: “A+”

When Philmon Lee explained that he sang Kodaline’s “All I Want” to his grandmother while she was in hospice, we were certain that his emotions were going to swallow him whole, just as several other contestants were thrown by their nerves earlier in the hour. But no. No sir, in fact. Not to speak ill of the eliminated, but when the judges told Bryant Thomas not to try as hard, they meant he should be giving us what Lee gives us — a powerful, perfectly controlled rasp that acts like more of a crunchy topping than an overpowering ingredient. This was definitely a “how dare you?!” performance, an effortless display of all that Lee has to offer. 

TVLine’s grade: “A”

We would have paid good money to hear Madison Moon’s performance of “Journey” in its entirety, but we’ll have the settle for the abridged version played on the show, which ended with Moon giving the entire audience chills with some pitch-perfect, metal-approved belting.

TVLine’s grade: “A-“

Like most of the industry experts, we were definitely not expecting Braden Rumfelt to whip out Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You” this week, but we’re sure glad he did. And he gets extra points for inviting his twin brother Kellan to join him on guitar. (The only thing better than one Rumfelt? Two Rumfelts!) He handled those soaring high notes with strength and control, and the crowd was eating up those runs, before being left tingling by a bit of falsetto. “Velvety and big” were the words Carrie Underwood used to describe Rumfelt’s sound tonight, which left her with a smile on her face the entire time.

TVLine’s grade: “A-“

For the entirety of Jake Thistle’s time on stage this week, it really did feel like we were front row at one of his own concerts — and not just because he performed an original song called “Sleep on Me.” The song itself was pretty good, and it fit his voice nicely; you could tell that he’s probably very comfortable singing this one, making it the perfect choice for the ‘Ohana Round. It wasn’t the most exciting performance of the week, but he sounded great and he showed us all exactly who he is. Plus, those manners! If Thistle doesn’t win the season, can he at least win Mr. Congeniality? That boy is polite.

TVLine’s grade: “A-“

This is what we call a layered dedication. Not only did Jesse Findling choose Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” to his honor his photographer grandfather, but just like Findling, Sheeran also battled a stutter when he was younger. In a way, this was Findling’s thank-you to both of those men for inspiring him to reach this point. Emotional right off the bat, Findling was fully experiencing every bit of emotion in this song. In fact, we’d argue that he connected better to his song than almost any other singer this week. Those runs? Nasty. Those vocals? Flying high. So many people were just silently nodding throughout this performance. It was like being in church.

TVLine’s grade: “A”

Call us crazy, but did anyone else get Olivia Rodrigo vibes from Ruby Rae’s performance this week? Maybe with a little Chappel Roan mixed in for good measure? The young performer really stood out from the crowd with her triumphant take on Ashe and Fineas’ “Till Forever Falls Apart,” filling the whole performance with so much joy. The vastly different parts of this particular song required Rae to access multiple parts of her voice, and she navigated the whole thing flawlessly. Carrie Underwood called her “a breath of fresh air” as she breezed off the stage, and we completely agree.

TVLine’s grade: “A”

Beyond being extremely talented and seemingly friendly (we’ve never met, so who’s to say?), there’s just something undeniably cool about Genevieve Heyward. The way she told her dad, “If I could give you the world, I would, but for now I’ll just start with a song” was adorable — and we weren’t at all surprised when she followed that by singing Elton John’s “Your Song.” We were, however, impressed with how effortlessly she grabbed the reins of that classic and steered it in new, brilliant directions. Those “I hope you don’t mind”s were fantastic — and yes, we do mind! With her sparkly boots, red dress, and punk-rock hair, she’s like an electric guitar come to life. Rock on, Heyward. Rock on.

TVLine’s grade: “A”

Sometimes we feel like there’s a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing going on with Lucas Leon, who constantly flips between a sweet, almost pop star-like vibe and the energy of a seasoned country music star. Fortunately for Leon, both halves of his musical personality happen to be extremely talented. He growled his way through Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me” like a gosh darn wolverine, blowing judge Carrie Underwood’s mind with his incredibly mature vocals before pivoting back to that signature sweetness.

Grade: “A”

Real talk: We would have considered voting for Hannah Harper to receive a Platium Ticket. You know, if we were given such power. Fortunately, the judges carved out their own place for Harper in the Top 20, following her stunning performance of Vince Gill’s “Go Rest on That Mountain,” the favorite song of her late grandfather. One of our favorite aspects of this one was Harper’s ability to take a classic tune and spin it into something completely her own, delivering another Alison Krauss-flavored performance that we gladly lapped up. As far as tributes go, this was also one of the night’s best. Harper is simply a songbird, one with endless tricks up her sleeves — er, wings — and we see her sticking around for quite a while.

TVLine’s grade: “A+”

The episode only showed us part of Chris Tungseth’s performance, so we don’t have too much to say about his take on Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris,” except that it felt like a perfect song choice for him. Of the snippet we got to hear, it sounded like he brought his time-honored combination of strength and sweetness to the alternative anthem. At least we know his hair looked great!

TVLine’s grade: “A-“

No one wants to be “mean,” but we’ll say it, because we don’t mind being the bad guy: It’s way too early in the season to be repeating songs we’ve already heard performed. We appreciate that Julian Kalel wrote “Surrender” during a particularly dark period in his life, and we’re glad that his father was able to help him work his way out of it, but it simply wasn’t exciting watching him perform the same original number he brought for his audition. He even had his sister back him up on violin, which would have left more of an impact if we hadn’t already seen them perform together last month. It was a strong performance, but it all felt like it was sort of one level, like we’ve seen everything Kalel will bring to the competition. Can he prove us wrong in subsequent weeks? We hope so!

TVLine’s grade: “A-“

Quick question: Is this still “American Idol,” or did it become “VH1 Divas Live” and no one told us? Because that’s how we were feeling after Rae’s explosive firework of a performance. She commanded the stage with confidence throughout her delightfully unexpected take on The Jackson 5’s “I’ll Be There,” for which she transformed herself into a vocal wrecking ball. This may have been dedicated to Rae’s sister, but it felt like a gift for us all. We’re also relieved that seeing her sister actually took Rae’s nerves away, rather than making her more nervous, as was the case with several unfortunate contestants this week. Lionel Richie summed up our thoughts with four little words: “What is going on?!” Hey, that’s just Rae.

TVLine’s grade: “A+”

Beg our pardon, but a gospel version… of Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb”?! Not only was this the last thing we expected to hear tonight, but it was also one of our favorite moments. Cyrus needs to be made aware of this immediately. Like several performances this week, “American Idol” only invited us to enjoy a portion of what Stallworth was brought to the stage, leaving us wanting more. So. Much More.

TVLine’s grade: “A-“

While it certainly wasn’t the first time we’ve heard Andra Day’s “Rise Up” on a singing competition show, Abayomi’s rendition definitely ranked somewhere towards the top. Dedicating the performance to her mother, the teen powerhouse once again stood before the judges with a voice far beyond her years, dazzling them with strength and confidence. We detected a minor voice crack, but the majority of her song — especially that falsetto on “for you” — was incredibly solid. “She’s freakin’ 16 and she’s like a Disney star,” Carrie Underwood noted.

TVLine’s grade: “B+”

The Rob Rausch of Season 24, Kutter Bradley brought overalls to the “Idol” stage this week. (In that Hawaiian heat? Bold move, man.) Fortunately, he also brought his A-game, giving us a rendition of Jason Aldean’s “Amarillo Sky” that was so solid, we thought we were listening to a recording. It’s everything we’ve come to expect from Bradley at this point in the competition — a pure country sound, solid vocals, and great energy. He impressed the judges with how much he pushed himself vocally this week, and he impressed us by throwing that guitar behind him and letting his voice stand on its own. Well done!

TVLine’s grade: “A-“

Remember when we said that Kyndal Inskeep had the performance of the night? Well, Mikayah gave her a run for her money with a show-stopping rendition of Cynthia Erivo’s “Stand Up,” which she dedicated to her hard-working mother. Some of this week’s performances were “how dare you?” levels of good, but this was more of a “how very dare you?!” And we’ll throw in a “ma’am!” for good measure, because she sang the life out of this song. From the first low note that had everyone talking to the explosive belting that couldn’t be contained by the stage, Mikayah treated us to an experience this week. If she wasn’t already performing outside, we’re pretty sure she’d have brought the house down.

TVLine’s grade: “A+”

Poor Keylah Richardson had to sweat it out while the judges took their sweet time revealing herself as the final member of the Top 20. We’re sure she was nervous to hear the results, but she had nothing to fear after the full-on gospel explosion that was her unforgettable performance of Christina Perri’s “A Thousand Years.” Her work on “one step closer” was one of our favorite musical moments of the entire night, period. And that was right before the song went absolutely off. The fact that she had her son singing along in the audience was, once again, merely the cherry on top of another delicious performance from Richardson.

TVLine’s grade: “A”

OK, now for the tough part: It’s time to discuss the 10 singers whose “American Idol” journeys ended this week. The headline, of course, is poor Chloe Lauren, who lost her place during Adele’s “Hello” and never managed to get back on track. (She finished strong, but let’s be honest, it was a shell of what is probably could have been.) We were rooting for Lauren big-time, and if she hadn’t gotten tripped up by the music, we know she would have crushed this song. After all, we likened her to Adele during her battle against Mary Jo Young in Hollywood Week. This was supposed to be her moment!

Michael Garner was another bummer to lose, but we agree with the judges. He honestly never seemed that much younger than everybody else before, but something changed when he got on this stage. The industry experts were right to call him “Country Bieber,” and we have a feeling this isn’t the last we’ll see of him. (We’ll deny ever saying this, but it’s… possible that Carrie Underwood was right about him not being ready.)

Our hearts also broke for Sheldon Riley, who broke down in tears multiple times during his performance of Patrick Watson’s “To Build a Home.” Emotions were running high this week, and telling the audience his story about not having a family of his own to support him only helped the waterworks flow. Still, we agreed with the judges’ decision to boot him; being able to handle the pressures of performing is part of the test.

We don’t have particularly strong feelings about any of this week’s other eliminees, none of whom will leave a noticeable hole in the competition moving forward. Those names include Bella Emry, Brenna Brigman (who they’ve basically refused to show anyway!), Brianna Yancey (another contestant with confusingly little screen time thus far), Bryant Thomas, Jacquie Lee, Kiera Howell, and Tianna Roberts. We wish them all well.