American Idol Recap: Fire Returns in Final Week of Season 21 Auditions — Did She Make It to Hollywood?
[Extreme Celine Dion voice] What do you saaaaaaay to second chances?
In addition to marking the final week of Season 21 auditions, Sunday’s episode of American Idol also welcomed back Fire Wilmore, the exotic dancer whose 4-year-old daughter tugged hard enough on Katy Perry’s heartstrings to earn her mother a second audience with the judges.
Appearing “lighter and brighter” than when she first sang for them, Fire gave the judges more of what they were looking for with a “pretty” take on Adele’s “Love in the Dark.” Channeling the emotions she experienced during her first audition, the 22-year-old single mother powered through her nerves, impressing the judges with her growth.
“Are you the best singer we’ve seen? Not at all,” Luke Bryan told her. “But there’s just stuff about you that I’d really like to push you on. You’ve got a lot left to discover with all of that. I believe you’ve got to go through to learn.” And just like that, three yeses sent Fire through to Hollywood.
Other faces we’ll be seeing again…
KAEYRA, 21 | This Illinois restaurant singer was the episode’s first contestant sent through, earning a standing ovation with an impressive performance of Chris Stapleton’s “Cold.” Bryan loves that she “doesn’t sound like anyone else,” and Lionel Richie sees the moody artist within her that’s just waiting to emerge. Watch her audition below:
ELISE KRISTINE, 18 | This Washington college student’s sweet exterior masked a powerful voice that was both incredible and unexpected. The judges couldn’t stop smiling throughout her confident, playful performance of Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.” Click here to watch her audition.
SARAH MAC, 24 | Demi Lovato’s “Stone Cold” isn’t an easy song to navigate, but this Georgia bartender exhibited nary a struggle, particularly excelling in the song’s higher moments with her powerful vibrato and authentic showmanship.
JAYNA ELISE, 22 | One of my personal favorite auditions of the night, this digital marketing specialist from Washington, D.C. put a beautiful, soulful spin on Queen’s “Who Wants to Live Forever,” nailing the song’s high notes while also delivering low notes that would give Toni Braxton chills. The range is strong with this one.
NATE PECK, 21 | Despite their concerns that he might be a little gimmicky, the judges followed their collective gut and sent this ’80s rocker through. His strong performance of Dokken’s “Lightning Strikes Again” convinced the judges that Peck might have the best shot of any “rock” contestant they’ve seen in their six years of judging Idol. It was certainly a bold statement, but only time will prove its accuracy.
MIKENLEY BROWN, 17 | This Indiana teen found her voice after surviving a battle with anorexia, a voice she used to wow the judges with a gnarly cover of Rihanna’s “Love on the Brain.” Her eye-popping vocals aside, this girl has attitude for days and seems to know herself better than most adults. Click here to watch her audition.
ISAAC BROWN, 21 | A refreshing change of pace from everyone we’d seen thus far, this California busker instantly charmed the judges with his smooth vocals and infectious energy. A stunning falsetto and some bombastic belting made his performance of JVKE’s “Golden Hour” a slam dunk. Perry recognized the “entertainer” in him, requesting a second, groovier song. And he indeed had everyone grooving with Wizkid and Tems’ “Essence.” In addition to being extremely talented, this ball of light is just a good time. I’m a fan.
CAM AMEN, 27 | The tears were already flowing before this Nebraska server even sang a note of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” an appropriate song choice for someone who was finally pursuing his dreams after basically raising his two younger siblings. The result was essentially Amen cracking open his heart and releasing all of its glorious contents… which is a gross way of saying that he was incredible. How could he not sob at the end of that? How could anyone? He earned the hell — er, heaven — out of that Platinum Ticket. Watch his audition below:
SIERRA HARRIS, 20 | Armed with rock-goddess vocals and a spoon for a microphone, this personal trainer from Massachusetts sang the crap out of Heart’s “Barracuda.” I’m sorry, there’s just no other way to say it. That was a full-on slay. The judges recognized her “tremendous” voice, but they weren’t sold on the karaoke-friendly song, so they requested a follow-up performance. Perry threw out “Firework” as an option, which she came to regret after Harris gave the song’s own singer a run for her money. Click here to watch her audition.
PHIL KANE, 18 | This thoughtful singer-songwriter endeared himself to the judges with a performance of an original song, “Osage County.” The song itself was beautiful, with lyrics full of wisdom long beyond the Oklahoma college student’s years. Click here to watch his audition.
KAYA STEWART, 22 | Accompanied on guitar by her dad (no big deal, just one half of the Eurythmics!), this Hollywood-born songstress tried her luck with “This Tattoo,” an original song she co-wrote with her famous father. Perry was already singing along by the time Stewart finished her song, the first of many compliments delivered by the judges. Click here to watch her audition.
OLIVER STEELE, 25 | First of all, great name. Second, wow. Even without the backstory of his father — a former professional guitar player who recently suffered a stroke, affecting his entire body — Steele’s voice still would have gotten to me. And The Beatles’ “In My Life”? Just rip out my heart, why don’t you! Watch his audition below:
Your thoughts on the conclusion of Idol‘s nail-biting Fire arc? And which of this week’s singers are you most excited to see again next week? Drop a comment with your thoughts on the final week of auditions below.
Cam for the win! Best audition all year and he earned that platinum ticket
My wife & I cried like babies during Oliver’s performance of “In My Life” because it was our first dance at our wedding back in ‘09. (The kid’s story didn’t help…)
Love how Disney-owned Idol is trying to turn a single mom stripper into a modern Cinderella story! Very Pretty Woman vibes.
Oliver was exceptional when he sang “Change the World”. Soo much better than the Beatles song. Kaya was pretty awesome; I really liked her original song. I’m probably going to be slayed by my next comment but I wasn’t that impressed with Cam’s performance and I didn’t think it was platinum ticket worthy. Hopefully he proves me wrong.
I agree. I found Cam very likeable and I have the utmost respect for what he did for his family but for me, his performance wasn’t so good. I wouldn’t have even put him through to Hollywood, much less with a platinum ticket. It will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
I thought I was the only one…Cam, good man and all but the big platinum ticket? I did not agree but as you say, we’ll see what happens in Hollywood.
I caught the very end when he was singing change the world and when pehonomenon came out I swear on any pop radio station it was on once at least every 30 minutes
Yup, I agree. I think the judges were swayed by his story.
I don’t remember all these sob stories in the original Idol. They just came in and sang the song and were judged. They saved the stories until we had a top 10.
Andy Swift, NBD, but Kaya Stewart was born in London…
My favorites were Kaeyra and Oliver Steele.
They would not have put Kaya Stewart through if her dad wasn’t Dave Stewart,(and there in the room).The song and her performance were no more than average.
She also already has an album out on Spotify. The song she performed is on her new album. Seems very unfair. Auditioned for exposure and using her dad’s name. Give someone else a shot!