Could Caleb Lee Hutchinson Be Our Next ‘American Idol’?
Monday night (Apr. 2) was one of the biggest nights for the entire season of the rebooted American Idol, as the top 50 contestants (announced Sunday night) were mercilessly chopped down to 24 based on their collective performances throughout Hollywood Week. The top 50 sang showcase performances at a club in Los Angeles, as judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie figured out who would stay and who would go.
In terms of country music, the most consistent contestant to date has been Caleb Lee Hutchinson, a teen who's been channeling a confident, deep-voiced vibe drawing comparisons to Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery. Hutchinson's nailed everything from to a not-so-easy Josh Turner cover of "Your Man" (on Sunday, Apr. 1, and it definitely wasn't an April Fool), to Keith Whitley, to a bleakly dark Chris Stapleton-penned SteelDrivers tune that's a bit unusual for a teenager to be able to handle with emotional clarity.
On Monday, he drew again from the Stapleton songbook with "I Was Wrong" for his 2018 Showcase performance. All he wants to do is make his mama and daddy proud, and that he undoubtedly achieved.
What was probably Hutchinson's most direct rival—the raspy-voiced Laine Hardy, who also has a penchant for mature tunes and chose a song we'd bet most kids his age would regard with blank stares, "The Ballad of Curtis Loew” by Lynyrd Skynyrd—was eliminated.
Let us know what you think of the top 24, but we'll be betting Hutchinson is a country notable to watch through the end of the season.
American Idol airs Sundays and Monday at 8PM ET/PT, and we'll be keeping an eye on standout performances, so be sure to check in.
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