American Idol review: Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, Grace VanDenburg, & more!

American Idol

Tonight, American Idol threw some more contestants out there for you to check out and this was some beautiful stuff. We had great stories, stellar music, and people who really need a big break. Think in terms tonight of Wade Coda, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, and a few others.

What we’re going to do within this article is to give you our five most-notable auditions of the night! These are the folks who stood out to us because of their voice, their style, and their ability to tell a story in a very short period of time. On the other side of this article, check out the video for more thoughts and remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube! We also have an official American Idol playlist to make the viewing experience even easier.

Nate Walker – Probably the most unique version of “Say Something” we’ve ever heard. He’s got an incredible voice and range do it, and we like that he chose a song from A Great Big World rather than a typical big, soul song. We do think that some of his runs are a little bit extreme, but we think that a lot of singers really feel the need to try to throw as much into an audition as possible.

Wade Coda – Really cool voice. We love us some George Ezra and we did the song choice — and we also think he sounds a lot like George Ezra! We’re thinking that he could probably do some country songs, but may a little bit of soul if the right outlet or avenue comes up for him. It’s mostly about picking and choosing what works best for him — this sort of voice won’t be able to do everything, but it can definitely do a lot.

Drake McCain – We love his hair — absolutely love it. Who doesn’t love an old-fashioned, old-school flat-top? We’ll admit that as good as his voice was, this is most notable to us because of the duet he ended up doing with Katy Perry. Who knew that Sister Act was going to become so relevant in 2019? In between the rhythm, the clapping, and his overall positive spirit, this dude seems like he’s going places … but he’s still super-young to it’s fair not to expect too much.

Madison VanDenberg – Let’s make the following very clear –to call her the next Kelly Clarkson after one performance isn’t fair. She is great and she’s got that perfect balance of power and humility. She was good at the piano and exceptional at just getting lost in the words that she was singing and the way she was communicating with the judges. We’ll remember her.

Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon – The final audition of the night, and his story as a church janitor (the gay son of a pastor) was deeply moving. He can really sing and we think America is going to love him. Seriously. He gets bonus points for singing an original song, and for just being brave enough to show up since being in his position can make it sometimes hard to go on TV and speak out about your true self. Loved every second of this.

For more American Idol news…

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