'€˜American Idol' Recap: Airport Hangar Tryouts Send Several Home Before Hollywood; Group Round Is Next

American Idol returned on Wednesday with a never-before-seen round of the audition process. In an airport hangar, Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr. handpicked contestants they wanted to hear from again. If they didn’t like what they heard, the singer would be heading back home before cashing in on their ticket to Hollywood.

Among those the judges were on the fence about were Caitlyn Johnson, Adam Roth, Morgan Deplitch, Alyssa Sibken and Eric Wood. In total there were 52 of them who had to sing for their lives with virtually no preparation. At the end of the day, the 52 contestants were split onto two buses. One bus would be heading to Hollywood; the other was going back to LAX.

The following day, the musicians had to partake in solo auditions on the stage of the Dolby Theatre. One of the best early performances came from Majesty York, who took on a Feist song. Austin Wolf’s take on Adele’s “Take It All” also saw him survive for another day. Among those who wouldn’t be moving on was a tongue-tied Selena Moreno.

Standouts from the second group included Sam Woolf, who sang “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer and C.J. Harris, who performed Ray Lamontagne’s “Trouble.” Alex Preston and Jessie Roch advanced as well. It was the end of the road for Ayla Stackhouse, Sydney Arterbridge and Brian Watt.

Singing “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis earned Kenzie Hall a pass into the next round. Fathers Casey Thrasher and Maurice Townsend kept up their winning momentum as well. The young man who was cradled by Harry Connick Jr. in the early auditions, Munfarid Zaidi is sticking around too.

Keith London was almost turned away by the judges when he confused them by singing “If I Were a Boy,” but won them over with a version of "Same Love." Savion Wright, who lost his brother since the judges first saw him, sang an emotional original song that saw him pass through to the next round.

Towards the end of the second hour, the remaining contestants formed groups of threes and fours for the next part of their auditions. Drama ensued, leaving some groups shy a partner, with other contestants trying to join a group last minute.

On Thursday, American Idol will pick up with the group performances on Fox at 8/7c.

– Chelsea Regan

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