Crews Wright appeared on Monday night’s American Idol in the nail-biting head-to-head duet round, performing “How Great Thou Art” with Kam’Ron Smith.
Wright had advanced into the Top 48 after Sunday’s show, needing just one more stellar performance to claim his spot in the live rounds.
“Just the way it goes, we gave it the best we had, let me take that back, I don’t think we gave it the best we had, but I think we did pretty good,” Wright said shortly after his final performance.
Crews had impressed the judges throughout his time on the show, especially country artist and Georgia native Luke Bryan.
“We don’t feel like you guys are ready for the Top 24, but you have a heck of a foundation to build on. Just think about how much you’ve grown since being here and how much you can grow,” Bryan said to Crews and his partner after their duet.
Wright’s journey to his musical career started at a young age, growing up and singing in church, where he was raised on Southern gospel and a little bit of country.
Outside of constantly winning the judges over on American Idol, Wright has already made a huge mark on country music, winning the Male Vocalist of the Year at the North American Country Music Association International four years straight. He also secured a record deal with Paradigm Music Group after winning the Southern Lights: The Search For a Star, a talent contest in Bonifay, Florida.
Wright says during his run on American Idol, he wanted to put the small town of Samson on the map and show the nation that traditional country music is alive.
Slater Nalley delivered a jaw-dropping performance during American Idol’s Hollywood Week, stunning the judges with his original song, “Foolish Pride,” and earning comparisons to music icons like Chris Stapleton, John Prine, and Bob Dylan.
The 17-year-old contestant from Atlanta, Georgia, brought all three of the Idol judges (Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, and Luke Bryan) to tears with a performance of “Traces Of You,” an original song that served as a heartfelt tribute to his high school teacher’s late son, Carter Davis, during his memorable Idol audition.
Prior to taking the stage during Hollywood Week, Slater Nalley recalled his audition while chatting with host Ryan Seacrest. He admitted that his life has been “pretty crazy” since that moment.
“Getting three yeses was one of the best days of my life. Hands down,” he said, before revealing a very special gift he received from his high school English teacher, Mrs. Davis, following the audition. “I was about to leave for Hollywood and the Davis family gave me this necklace to wear and just to keep because they knew I got nervous a little bit before my last audition. It’s a St. Christopher with Carter’s ashes in it. So I get to carry Carter wherever I go this whole entire show.”
Nalley introduced his next performance in front of the fellow hopefuls and the star-studded judges panel, saying, “‘Foolish Pride’ is about self-reflection and realizing sometimes when you’re the problem in a relationship or friendship or anything. I wrote it when I was going through a hard time in a relationship. I think the judges are going to see another side of my storytelling and are going to like it.”
“How is he 17?” Underwood asked the other judges as he belted out the lyrics to his original track. His stunning vocal abilities left Richie, Underwood, and Bryan captivated, impressing them with vocals reminiscent of country superstar Chris Stapleton.
“I’m scared, like I’m scared. It was so good that I’m scared,” Underwood said.
“Slater, you’ve got a lot of things going in that heart, mind, soul, spirit, voice, guitar…” Bryan said. “You got Carrie Underwood scared. You got a lot more stories to tell, and we’re glad you’re telling them.”
After Nalley left the stage, Underwood and Bryan likened his performance to legendary artists like Chris Stapleton, John Prine, and Bob Dylan.
Following his performance, Slater Nalley told Idol producers, “I wanted the judges to see a different side of me. Still songwriter, but a different range of my voice, and I think that they got that. This is something that little me would never think would happen, but I’m going to take on this opportunity. I’m here to win it.”
Ultimately, Slater Nalley is one of 62 Idol hopefuls who advanced after what the show described as “the biggest cut in Idol history.”
American Idol returns on Sunday, April 6 for the “Showstoppers” round, where Jelly Roll will make his highly anticipated debut as the first-ever artist in residence to offer guidance to the contestants. During the “Showstoppers” round, the remaining hopefuls will face a career-defining challenge, where they’ll have the chance to prove they have what it takes to captivate an audience with performances that could make or break their journey to fame and their shot at becoming the next American Idol.
“I pray that I met [the judges’] expectations and make it to the Top 24,” Hill said following his performance.
Moments later, as 62 contestants waited to hear whether they would advance to the next round, Hill found out that his prayers were answered. He was selected as one of only four contestants to forgo competing the following day and was automatically named one of the Top 24.
Hill will compete next week, when the fate of American Idol contestants will rest in the hands of voting fans.
