American Idol Season 17 finalist Alyssa Raghu auditions after her friend receives a no, gets backlash from fans
American Idol Season 22 has been an eventful season so far. The first two audition episodes featured great talent, and even if the show has lost some steam since then, it still has buzzworthy moments that make it entertaining. In one of the more mind boggling moments of the latest episode, a Season 17 finalist, Alyssa Raghu returned to the show and auditioned again for a THIRD time in front of the judges. (Read our Recap)
Before anyone says, “I thought contestants who made the live shows can’t audition again,” American Idol changed the rules in Season 20 to allow contestants beyond the Top 12 to audition again. See our initial report on this here. Notably, the only contestant since the rules change that publicly announced she auditioned was Avalon Young (who placed 8th in Season 15). She auditioned last season but was never aired.
The audition was awkward to say the least. It started off with Julia Davo auditioning with David Bowie’s “Life on Mars.” She soon reveals her best friend and roommate is Alyssa Raghu, and that she accompanied her to the audition to support her.
Alyssa Raghu’s Best Friend Julia Davo Auditions, Receiving a No
The judges like Julia’s style but feel that she hasn’t found her artistry yet. Katy Perry says her vibrato is a bit much. Lionel Richie gives her a yes, but Luke Bryan and Katy give her a no.
Alyssa marched in, and they ask how old she is. The singer, who auditioned for Idol as a teen is now 21. The judges break the news that Julia hasn’t made it. After noting that Alyssa herself came back and “grew exponentially,” they suggest that Alyssa bring Julia back. The hard truth is Alyssa received a no at the Top 24 stage in Season 16 which imore validation than Julia received. Alyssa returned in season 17, leaving the competition in 8th place.
Hoping to show the judges her growth, Alyssa asked to sing something. She performed Mariah Carey’s “My All,” proving to the panel that she can connect more emotionally to a song than she did five years ago. While the song is a bit big for her, she does show that vocally she has grown, and her tone is as beautiful as ever.
Alyssa Raghu Auditions and Makes It to Hollywood
Katy remarked, “you have grown!” Lionel added, “Congratulations, that was the point we were trying to make,” Alyssa responded, “I’ve never competed on the show as an adult.” Katy was shocked, and questioned her asking, “Are you telling me you want to audition for this season six years later?” Katy gave her a no as she doesn’t think she can win. Lionel gave her a yes, saying, “we have nothing to lose.” Luke said yes, as Alyssa pled for another chance. Luke asked if her friend, Julia can shadow her, to which Julia awkwardly asked if she can join her on the show. The judges ignore the singer’s half-hearted plea to reverse their decision, and give Alyssa her golden ticket. Julia seemed really sad, but said she’s happy for her friend. Alyssa called the moment “surreal and bittersweet at the same time.”
Fans accuse Alyssa of being a bad friend, Alyssa claims producers gave her a bad edit
The two agree the friendship will be okay, but America thinks otherwise, as the viewing audience reacted to the moment as soon as American Idol posted Julia and Alyssa’s auditions to American Idol’s social pages. Many of the comments on social media are not happy with Alyssa overshadowing Julia, stating she was selfish. But according to Alyssa, the show edited it to make her look like more of a selfish friend than she really was.
Alyssa quickly took to Instagram saying, “definitely a bittersweet moment. What they didn’t show was me constantly begging Julia to come on the show with me, but unfortunately the judges said no. being able to grow up on this show is something so special to my heart, I want to thank the @americanidol family for teaching me so much throughout the years and showcasing me at my realest moments. huge thank you to @juliadavo for true friendship and incredible memories. Thank you all for watching, stay tuned for the next episode!”
Other than Alyssa’s eventful audition, the night also had a few solid vocalists. The two that stood out the most were Elleigh Marie’s rendition of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” mainly due to the chill worthy high note she hit, and Michael Rice’s passionate take on Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You”. Auditions end next week, and I hope they end on a high note.
