A Real Housewife Crashes American Idol Auditions — And We Have A Bone To Pick With Carrie Underwood

Wherever Meredith Marks is right now (probably in a bathtub or screaming at someone on a plane), we just know that she's fuming. The February 2 episode of "American Idol" welcomed "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" star Britani Bateman, and by "welcomed," we mean that Bateman tagged along with her auditioning niece for moral support — and maybe to snag a bit of the spotlight for herself while she was at it.

If you don't watch "RHOSLC," just know that Bateman is basically the ladies' lovable punching bag, often the butt of a cruel joke, so it was only fitting that she should ask the judges, "Do you know who I am?" and receive nothing but silence and blank stares. Classic Bateman. Also classic Bateman? Joining her niece in a duet of "Let Me Be Your Star" from the short-lived NBC Broadway drama "Smash." Send them both to Hollywood Week, we say!

In all seriousness, we weren't surprised when the judges said yes to Bateman's niece, 20-year-old Carmen Lorell Martin, who sat at the piano to deliver a beautiful cover of Ty Myers' "Thought It Was Love." There's both an innocence and a strength to her voice that we find very interesting — even if that pitchy duet with her aunt did neither of them any favors.

We were, however, surprised by some of the questionable calls Carrie Underwood made this week. As you'll see below, not only did she randomly decide to champion someone who doesn't belong in Hollywood Week (in our opinion), but she also projected her own motherly hang-ups on a young singer who otherwise should have been a shoe-in.

Read on for a breakdown of the 12 other contestants sent through to Hollywood in the second week of "American Idol" Season 24 auditions, then vote for your five (5) favorites in our poll below. Drop a comment while you're at it: Do you disagree with any of the judges' calls this week?

Let's begin with a music lesson: there's singing, and then there's sanging. According to the family of this assistant bank manager from Pine Bluff, Arkanas, she falls into the latter category — and after hearing her audition, we have to agree. Even when she was blowing the roof off the building with her massive voice, there was an ease to Makiyah's delivery that made the whole experience even more enjoyable. We fully lost ourselves in her performance of Jennifer Hudson's "Love You I Do," which she peppered with big moments while managing to never overdo it.

The judges said she might just have the strongest voice they've heard so far this season, and Lionel Richie even called her an answer to prayer. And after hearing what her 11-year-old brother Christopher Savage, Jr. could do with that Keyshia Cole song, we have a feeling he'll be following in Makiyah's "Idol" footsteps in a few years.

Pacific Palisades, California needed a win after those devastating wildfires last year, and it found one in teen powerhouse Ruby Rae, who earned a ticket to Hollywood with her emotional performance of Olivia Rodrigo's "Vampire." During her interview package, Rae mentioned that she was "super nervous" about singing in front of the "American Idol" judges, but you would never have known it from watching her solid audition. She was locked in the entire time, maintaining a clear sound throughout, from the impressive belting moments to that gorgeous falsetto at the end. 

Our only concern (and it's pretty nitpicky) was that it felt like a very good Rodrigo impression, leaving us to wonder who Rae really is as an individual. Is that overthinking it? Probably. After all, everything Rae gave us was impeccable. And the judges agreed! After doing a three-way group hug, Lionel Richie declared, "I'm so happy for us!"

Out of context, "I wish you were 20 years old" could mean a lot of different, weird things. In this instance, we understand why Carrie Underwood would say it to this young contestant, whom she worried about throwing to the wolves too soon. But was she merely letting her maternal instincts get the better of her? We think so!

Let's back up a bit: the judges were instantly impressed by this deer-hunting, duck-hunting Arkansas teen's performance of The Red Clay Strays' "I'm Still Fine." It was refreshing to hear such a mature sound come out of such a young performer, especially one who carries himself so quietly. 

Luke Bryan was especially fond of Michael Garner's audition, getting up to give the singer a fist-bump when he was finished. When Underwood voiced her concern that Garner might not be ready, saying that she wouldn't want her own sons to face this industry so young, Bryan practically begged her to reconsider. "I know he's young, but we're all saying that he sings great," he argued. He was really pushing for it.

In the end, Garner earned enough votes to get him to Hollywood, where Underwood will find out if her fears were valid.

If you're an avid consumer of international reality competition shows, you might already be familiar with this next contestant. After competing on "The X Factor Australia" and "The Voice Australia," Sheldon Riley relocated to the U.S., where he competed on "America's Got Talent" and its spinoff "America's Got Talent: Fantasy League." He even represented Australia at Eurovision in 2022. The guy's been all over the place.

But much of Riley's success was built around his theatrical, costumed persona, and he wasn't happy with the person underneath. After taking two years off, he feels he's ready to stand (and more importantly sing) on his own — and we're inclined to agree. From the moment Riley opened his mouth to perform Matt Corby's "Brother," it was like he was just vomiting pure beauty. Sorry for the visual, but there's just no other way to describe it. We've seen a lot of good-but-boring contestants this season, so to finally have an exciting singer in the mix is, well... exciting!

For the most part, we've agreed with — or at least understood — the judges' decisions this season, but this one really baffled us. There was nothing impressive about Trace Casanova's gimmicky performance of Jerry Lee Lewis' "Wild One," and Luke Bryan was absolutely correct when he said "it was a stretch for 'American Idol.'" The conversation should have ended there, but for some reason, Carrie Underwood decided to champion the contestant. And why, because he's a "morale booster"? Is the "American Idol" crew sad or something? Since when is that a deciding factor on this show?

Look, the guy's voice is fine, and I'm sure he's very entertaining at work. But the whole naughty crooner bit peaked with Richard Cheese (if you know, you know), and there's no need to keep that tradition alive. After seeing so many talented singer sent home because they weren't "ready," why would the judges basically throw away a ticket to Hollywood on this guy?

Maybe we woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, but this is another audition that probably would have been a "no" from us. Joined by her college a cappella group, serving as her "instrument," Kitti Taye sang a perfectly fine rendition of Jazmine Sullivan's "Masterpiece," though that's not a word we would not use to describe the overall performance. Yes, Taye served up some pretty solid runs, but there were moments when it sounded like she and her back-up singers were giving us two completely different songs. We would have preferred to hear her sing without them, and we're a little surprised that the judges didn't request a solo follow-up.

Though Carrie Underwood said Taye is "too smiley," the judge called her voice "fabulous." Luke Bryan echoed those sentiments, adding that he immediately recognized her nice country tone. It's at this point we must ask: Are we missing something here? Are we being too hard on Taye?

Now this was a highlight of the night for us: Hannah Harper, an unassuming mother of three from Willow Springs, Missouri, blessed our ears with an original song she wrote about her experiences with postpartum depression. "String Cheese" is a deeply honest look at the struggles of motherhood, a reminder of the beauty in everyday moments, and it's one of the best original songs this show has given us in recent memory. Plus, did any of those other songs include shout-outs to Ms. Rachel and Hot Wheels? We don't think so!

The judges were enamored with Harper's "mountainous bluegrass" vibe, which Luke Bryan likened to Alison Krauss, Kacey Musgraves, and even Dolly Parton. But Carrie Underwood best summed up what we appreciated about Harper: the "beautiful simplicity" of what she brings to the table. No bells, no whistles, just pure honesty and heart. Oh, and an incredible voice. That part helps, too.

We didn't get to spend a lot of time with Jakob Stobaugh, as his audition came at the tail end of a segment about Luke recruiting people to audition through TikTok. After striking out with his first two social media finds, Luke Bryan was feeling pretty low, admitting, "Obviously I'm learning that TikTok has filters on it to make you sound amazing." So imagine his delight when Stobaugh, his third and final TikTok recruit, absolutely crushed his audition, resulting in Bryan's experiment being a relative success.

In the end, the celebrations were less for Stobaugh and more for Bryan and his fragile ego. "Congratulations, Luke," Lionel Richie said after the audition. "He's now one for three."

Not to be confused with Tinashe (a very different artist!), Tinayeshe had the judges moving and grooving right along to his performance of Bill Withers' "Lean On Me," which he presented in a style all his own. We didn't get to hear anything about Tinayeshe before he sang, but in this case, we'll alow it; no backstory was needed for us to appreciate his talent and artistry. 

The panel fell in love with the Charlotte, North Carolina singer's voice, especially during the song's bigger moments. "Once you go kaboom, it's magnificent," Lionel Richie told him. He also noted that he's never seen Carrie Underwood jump out of her seat faster to give a standing ovation. "You did your own thing with it, it sounded fresh, and it was such a smart song choice," she told him, complete with a chef's kiss.

Braden Rumfelt grew up thinking he and his twin brother were destined for baseball stardom, but everything changed in high school when Rumfelt was diagnosed with a congenital issue. Basically, his legs were in the wrong position, requiring him to undergo surgery that ultimately derailed his plans as a professional athlete. He found joy again in music, which led him to "Idol" auditions, where he sang... Little Big Town's "Girl Crush"? Yeah, it took us by surprise too, but you can't say that Rumfelt didn't absolutely crush it from the minute he opened his mouth.

We weren't sure how the judges felt at first, given the puzzled look on Luke Bryan's face, but he quickly turned it into one of his trademark goofy smiles. Carrie Underwood also looked like she was developing a crush of her own, and even Lionel Richie was banging his hand on the desk at one point. They loved it! And what wasn't there to love? He came in soft and sweet, then really let loose at the end. We've never heard this song go so hard. We didn't even know it could!

The phrase "so-and-so took us to church" is wildly overused in music, but then again, not many "American Idol" contestants audition with a literal hymn. Following a devastating miscarriage, Tianna Roberts' new life motto is "no risk, no story," and boy is she going to have a story to tell after this. You could feel the power in her voice from the very beginning of "Pass Me Not," which she sang straight from her soul.

The judges were blown away by Roberts' talent, but they warned her that she's going to have to branch out a bit as she moves further in the competition. Still, as Lionel Richie pointed out, there isn't a song in existence that her voice can't handle, so we're not worried. We're just excited to see her again in Hollywood Week.

The final audition of the night came from a contestant who already had a complicated "American Idol" journey under his belt — yet we, the audience, had no idea. Julián Kalel apparently auditioned last season, though his performance was left on the cutting room floor, and the judges sent him through to Hollywood. In the unseen footage from last year, Luke Bryan was even heard telling Kalel, "You may win this thing. You literally might win it."

Unfortunately, Kalel, who was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in high school, made the difficult decision not to attend Hollywood Week, instead focusing on his mental health. Though he still struggles with it, Kalel was confident enough to return to "Idol" on Monday, flooring the judges with an original song he wrote while at a particularly dark crossroads in his life.

The song was as beautiful and heartbreaking as Kalel's voice, and the judges felt every bit of both. Bryan encouraged him to try to have as much with the competition as he can, rather than applying too much pressure on himself.