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American Idol

It was fitting that Miranda Lambert was on hand for Sunday night’s (May 4) “Iconic Women”-themed night. As the show’s top 10 competed for a spot in the top 8, Lambert was in the house for a killer performance of one of her breakthrough hits and to offer advice and encouragement to the singers, beginning with country crooner John Foster, who admitted that the singer was his “first crush.”
They clearly got along like old friends, with country gentleman Foster even taking off his cowboy hat in deference to Lambert, who counseled him to work the stage a bit as they did an impromptu duet on Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About.”

Lambert wasn’t done singing, though, as she had her own spotlight moment later in the show when she took the stage to perform her breakthrough 2005 hit single, “Kerosene,” which peaked at No. 61 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Nov. 15 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The song, which was the third single and title track of Lambert’s debut album, has lost none of its rocking vibe in the ensuing two decades.

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“Dusty roads ain’t made for walking/ Spinning tires ain’t made for stoppin’/ I’m giving up on love ’cause love’s given up on me,” Lambert sang over her band’s foot-stomping backing, as, following her own advice, she worked the stage in a rhinestone-studded black jumpsuit while the giant screen behind her featured the tune’s title in flaming letters.

Fellow country stars and Idol judges Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan clapped and bopped their heads to the song’s driving beat and gospel-flecked keyboards. Afterwards, host Ryan Seacrest asked Lambert how her mentoring run on the show has been going and she said, “I love them all so much. I’ve had such a blast getting to be part of this Idol family and getting to know these wonderful artists. It has been a real blessing for me.”

Lambert also plugged her new record label, Big Loud Texas, where she said she’s trying to keep the “outlaw movement going.”

Other top 10 performances on the episode included: Kolbi Jordan (Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain”), Josh King (Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”), Breanna Nix (Adele’s “Water Under the Bridge”), Canaan James Hill (Carrie Underwood’s “Love Wins”), Thunderstorm Artis (Adele’s “When We Were Young”), Slater Nalley (Reba McEntire’s “Whoever’s In New England”), Jamal Roberts (Underwood’s “Undo It”), Mattie Pruitt (Lambert’s “The House That Built Me”) and Gabby Samone (Beyoncé’s “I Was Here”).

Idol winner Abi Carter also returned during the episode to sing her new ballad, “Burned.” By show’s end, the top 10 was cut down to the top eight, with Jordan and Hill eliminated. The next episode of Idol, the judge’s song contest, airs on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET, where America will vote for the top six and the judges will use their save to complete the top seven.

Watch Lambert perform “Kerosene” on American Idol below.

When it comes to the prospect of being trapped on a deserted island, Kelly Clarkson would want to be with a fellow American Idol alum. The hypothetical scenario came up on Thursday’s episode (May 1) of The Kelly Clarkson Show during a round of “Playing Dice With God,” with guests Tina Fey and Will Forte. […]

Born: Aug. 22, 2001 – Cairo, EgyptMusical Influences: Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Mariah Carey, Celine DionCurrently Listening To: Bruno Mars, Beyoncé, AdeleFirst Idol Experience: “I’ve been watching since I grew up in Egypt. As a little kid I was pulling up videos of the show any way I could. I remember Carrie [Underwood’s] journey, the compilation of every performance of hers. And Kelly Clarkson and Fantasia.Favorite Alums:  Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Ruben Studdard, Katharine McPhee, Phillip Phillips, La’Porsha Renae, Quintavious, Roman Collins

For the first seven years of his life, Filo lived with his family in Egypt, where he was introduced to music by the hymns at his Coptic Orthodox Christian church. “It was very much traditional, group singing with just melody, no instruments. That is where I started using my voice, but I didn’t put any thought into it. It wasn’t until I was 10 years old and my brother started downloading music on our iPad where I was introduced to mainstream music. That’s when I first got to hear Mariah Carey, Bruno Mars, John Legend and Meghan Trainor. From there, I sang in the shower and then my uncle said to my mom, ‘Are you hearing this?’”

But Filo says he never got approval for his “shower shows.” “We had moved to Abu Dhabi and there was a church choir we had put together. I loved the message of one particular song and auditioned to sing the solo. A lot of heads turned around when I started singing and that’s when I noticed, ‘Wow, maybe there’s something there. I love this. I love singing for people.’”

Filo’s mom, who has been an emotional presence on Idol this season, realized her son was interested in music and arranged for him to have voice and piano lessons. “That didn’t last long because after two months we moved to the States,” says Filo.

It was a turbulent time for the family. “There was a big revolution in Egypt where Christians were targeted. They burned mom’s hometown church in Minya down. We were lucky to get a visa to the States from the UAE. Luckily, the U.S. opened its doors and now we’re citizens, which is great.”

Along with his mother and older brother, Filo relocated to San Francisco. “It took a minute for me to fit in. Society here is so different to how it was back home and it was really a challenge finding a community. Luckily there were a few Coptic churches around where we lived, so it was slightly easier to transition. I was this awkward kid in eighth grade until I saw a poster for a school musical. I didn’t even know what a musical was. But I thought I would audition for it – it was the junior version of Shrek the Musical.”

Filo says that everyone else was prepared for the audition but he didn’t know any of the show’s songs and so tried out with Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man.” And then? “I got the part of Shrek! That’s when I first felt like I belonged. People enjoyed what I was doing and I thought, ‘This is what I’m meant to do.’”

Moving on to high school, Filo was cast in all of his school’s musicals: Urinetown, In the Heights, Grease and Rent. He joined the choir and competed in local and national choir competitions, including one at Carnegie Hall. “In high school, everything revolved around my music activities.”

Filo was then accepted by the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., where he studied classical music. But people back home had other expectations. “In Egypt, there are only three acceptable careers: Engineer, doctor or lawyer. That’s it, and nothing else matters. The most random people would come up to me and say, ‘So you’re doing this music thing, but what are you actually doing?’ ‘No, I’m doing music.’ ‘As a hobby. So what are you actually doing?’ I’d reply, ‘Great, thank you for your input.’ I didn’t know what to tell them.”

As a result, Filo studied for a music degree while also following a premed route. “Then, in my senior year, COVID happened.” That’s when Filo told his family he was going to dedicate his life to music.

Being on Idol has reinforced that decision. “I’ve learned how much I love to do this. This has not been an easy journey. You’re putting yourself out there for people to criticize and to have opinions. Often people don’t see the vision that you’re seeing or they’re not seeing the career that you want to have. Choosing music has proven to me how resilient I can be. It affirms not just my singing ability, but my character. Like, I’ve got this. No matter what happens on Idol, I’ve still got a vision and I’ve still got the love for the music. That’s what I’ve discovered about myself.”

Brian Littrell‘s love for his son Baylee is clearly larger than life. The Backstreet Boys singer’s 22-year-old son Baylee Littrell auditioned for season 23 of American Idol, debuting on the show last month and surviving all the way to this week, before he was eliminated just shy of the top 14 contestants on Monday night. […]

The 2025 inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be announced on a live episode of American Idol on Sunday (April 27). Show host Ryan Seacrest will make the eagerly awaited announcement. James Taylor, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2000, will serve as a mentor on the episode, on […]

American Idol leaned into the Easter Sunday (April 20) holiday with a three-hour episode in which this season’s top 20 sang anthems of faith and devotion, with one contestant turning heads thanks to his original song dedicated to a lost friend.

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“No words can describe how I truly feel/ But I hope these will try/ It’s a feeling that I can’t explain/ Deep and endless like the sky,” sang 18-year-old Addis, LA country singer John Foster on “Tell That Angel I Love Her.” He said he wrote the song for his late friend Maggie Dunn, who was killed, along with another friend, on New Year’s Eve in 2022 when a police officer ran a red light during a high-speed chase and slammed into their vehicle.

“Though we may not know the reason/ It’s not for us to understand/ Lord, won’t you tell that angel/ I love her as soon as you can?” Foster crooned before hitting the moving chorus: “Sure the sun will come up/ But it won’t shine on her skin/ And I’d give anything I have/ To talk to her again/ Each tear that falls on my guitar/ Is a hug from afar/ Lord, won’t you tell that angel that I love her?/ As y’all live in the stars.”

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At the end of the performance, Foster said, “I love you Maggie” as his eyes got watery.

“There’s something wonderfully throwback about your voice, about your style. And I think it’s something that’s lacking in country music today, to be honest. I love that you keep it very traditional,” Underwood said of Foster’s old school country balladeering. “I feel like that’s who you are. I love that in this song, we got to hear a sweet, tender side of your voice that honestly I didn’t know you had.” Bryan noted that Foster had been a “wild card” for him from the beginning but that with that song he’d “removed all doubts in my mind that you deserve to be here.”

The episode opened judge Lionel Richie performing his song “Eternity” accompanied by a full gospel choir and the top 24, just before four of those singers — Grayson Torrence, Kyana Fanene, Penny Samar and MKY — were sent packing. In addition, fellow judge Luke Bryan sang “Jesus ‘Bout My Kids” and Carrie Underwood brought down the house with a moving “How Great Thou Art.”

Also performing on the episode were the rest of the top 20: Canaan James Hill, Drew Ryn, Desmond Roberts, Filo, Josh King, Thunderstorm Artis, Amanda Barise, Mattie Pruitt, Olivier Bergeron, Breanna Nix, Victor Solomon, Baylee Littrell, Isaiah Misailegalu, Gabby Samone, Slater Nalley, Zaylie Windsor, Jamal Roberts, Ché and Kolbi Jordan.

The top 20 will be cut down to the top 14 on Monday night’s (April 21) episode, which airs at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Watch John Foster’s performance below.

American Idol contestant Doug Kiker died of an accidental overdose, the Denver Medical Examiner confimed Thursday (April 17). The official cause of death was the combined toxic effects of fentanyl, methadone and amphetamines, along with recent cocaine use, People reports. (TMZ broke the news.) Kiker died last month at age 32. The singer’s sister, Angela […]

Olivier Bergeron brought the judges — and much of America — to the brink of tears on American Idol Monday night (April 14), performing Jelly Roll’s “I Am Not Okay” with vulnerability and raw conviction. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The 22-year-old Canadian contestant, who grew […]

It’s not easy to perform a Jelly Roll song in front of the artist himself, but Jamal Roberts proved he was up for the challenge. The 27-year-old American Idol contestant performed the country superstar’s “Liar” during Sunday night’s (April 13) episode at Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa in Ko Olina Hawaii. Roberts commanded the […]

Ashanti flew over to Hawaii for the upcoming episode of American Idol, where she treated fans to a jaw-dropping live performance. The Grammy-winning superstar joined artist-in-residence Jelly Roll as a mentor for season 24. To celebrate the kick-off of nationwide voting and the top 12 of this season’s competition, Ashanti performed her 2008 hit “The […]