“American Idol” Drama: Hollywood Week Sees Over Half of Contestants Eliminated!

American Idol judges Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, and Lionel Richie during Hollywood Week

American Idol Season 23 Hollywood Week is underway! More than half of those who earned Golden Tickets were sent packing at the end of the first round.

144 hopefuls received Golden Tickets during hometown auditions. Those tickets allowed the singers to advance to the next round of competition – the iconic Hollywood Week held at The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles.

During Monday night’s episode (March 31), the ticket recipients took turns in the American Idol arena, where they sang for the judges once again. It was also the first time any of the contestants performed in front of their competition.

At the beginning of the episode, judge Luke Bryan said that more than half would be eliminated by the end of the first Hollywood round. 62 Idol-wannabes advanced to the Showstopper Round, where they will go head to head with another contestant. Of those, only 24 will be asked to go to Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii.

American Idol 2018: Hollywood Week Rounds 1 And 2 Live Recap – American Idol Net

Several fan favorites were eliminated in the biggest cut in Idol history.

Among those eliminated were Lola Bonfiglio, daughter of Wilson Phillips singer Carnie Wilson and granddaughter of The Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson. During an interview at the Music of the ’90s panel at ’90s Con over the weekend, Carnie spoke out about the criticism her daughter received after her audition.

“Would you encourage a doctor’s son not to be a doctor? No. Would you ever say, ‘Don’t be a doctor because your dad’s a doctor’? Lola wants to be a singer, and they say these terrible things, and she was so hurt,” she said.

Other audition standouts who didn’t advance during Hollywood Week were Sam Sparks, Carsen Webb, and Freddie McClendon.

Fan favorites, including Baylee Littrell, advanced to the next round.

Baylee Littrell, son of Backstreet Boys’ singer Brian Littrell, was chosen to move on after an emotional performance dedicated to his late grandmother. Baylee sang an original song called “Hey, Jesus,” a song he wrote after his grandma died a few years ago.