American Idol Took Us To Hawai’i
The 30 American Idol hopefuls who made it through Hollywood Week traveled to Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai’i, for this week’s episode. Only 20 made it through, and the judging was a bit different than in years past.
This year, the judges took feedback from different focus groups, including the contestants’ families, “industry tastemakers” (musicians, performers, and content creators), and fellow contestants. Each focus group was allowed to hand out one Platinum Ticket. To make it fair, families weren’t allowed to vote for their loved ones, and contestants couldn’t vote for themselves.
RELATED: ‘American Idol’ Reveals Top 20 & Platinum Ticket Winners
Who Were The Industry Tastemakers?
The Industry Tastemakers included podcast hosts, musicians, content creators, and even a Dancing With The Stars pro. See the full list of tastemakers below.
- Kaniyia Brown & Terry McCaskill: Social media personality duo.
- Sasha Farber: Dancer and choreographer (from Dancing with the Stars)
- Anthony Gargiula: Artist, music creator, and social media personality
- Loren Gray: Singer and actress
- Shirley Halperin: Co-editor-in-chief of Rolling Stone
- Cheryl Porter: Vocal coach
- Kelly Sutton: Country music personality and Grand Ole Opry announcer
- Evan Ross Katz: Podcast host and pop culture expert
While Farber is no music expert per se, he is a performance expert, so some of his feedback was a little confusing to the other taste makers. Watch the hilarious moment below where he said a contestant looked bored, and everyone else disagreed.
Despite his critiques, Farber still brought the fun on set
During one commercial break, he and judge Carrie Underwood linked up for a little dance and showed us moves we didn’t know that she had in her!
“Are you guys watching?” Farber tells the camera, and he grabs Underwood’s hands.
They spun around a few times, where the “Before He Cheats” singer did show off some fancy footwork, and the best part was at the end when he seemingly unexpectedly dipped her!
“Look at those hips!” Farber said during their spins.
The look on her face was priceless as the professional dancer cradled her head and dipped her. Even though she screamed, it looked like she had experience in dance!
“She killed that!” he said, while Underwood said, “I was holding on for dear life!”
“Don’t drop me, I’m fragile,” she joked.
What do you think? Should Carrie join the next season of Dancing With The Stars? Watch her impressive moves below.