'American Idol' Episode 4 Spoilers & Recap: Final Round of Auditions Begins, Who Is Going to Hollywood?

'American Idol' 2019 Spoilers & Recap
'American Idol' Season 2 premieres March 3 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. ABC/Eric Liebowitz

American Idol returns Sunday night for another round of cross-country auditions. From Los Angeles to Louisville, find out who gets magical, golden tickets to Hollywood when the final of auditions kicks off on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.

Last week, audiences were introduced to singers with powerful beginnings, including stories of abuse and conflict between religion and relationships.

Wade Cota, who was one of the 10 contestants to make it through to Hollywood last week, told a story of childhood abuse at the hands of his biological father. Wishing to simply take care of his mother and make her proud, the Arizona-native rocked the judges' world with a raspy rendition of "Blame It On Me" by George Ezra.

"I was not excepting that person to jump out of your body," judge Lionel Richie said.

"You have the most unique voices I've ever heard in my life," judge Katy Perry added.

The last contestant featured on last week's episode, Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon came from humble beginnings as a church janitor. Telling the start of coming out to his religious parents three years ago, Harmon was not fully accepted by his parents and performed his original song "Almost Heaven."

'Almost Heaven' is about questioning if there is a place for me, and people like me, in Heaven," Harmon said to the camera.

Delivering emotional vocals while playing the piano, Harmon's performance seemed to be a great way to end the second round of auditions.

"You're a serious musician," Perry said.

"When you opened your mouth and started singing, I went straight to Billie Joel," Richie said. "Then you kept singing and you passed Billie Joel."

For a full recap of last week's episode, click here.

Jacob Moran

Grinning from ear to ear, Jacob Moran was looking at going from a nurse to a star. The 26-year-old comes from a small town in Michigan and was looking for a chance to make is musical dreams into a reality.

"Every time I sing for someone, it's a rush," Moran said to the camera. "Being on the show would open so many doors for me."

Singing his rendition of Ariana Grande's "Into You," the judge's quickly identified he had the "best voice [they've] heard in Kentucky."

"I'll let you sing to me when I'm not feeling well," Perry said.

"I am faint right now," judge Luke Bryan said. "You have quite the voice."

"We're dumbfounded here," Richie added.

Alyssa Raghu

Making it to the Top 24 last season, this 16-year-old singer is coming back to win the entire competition. Alyssa Raghu sang "Shark In The Water" by V.V. Brown and officially brought "the sauce."

With newfound confidence in herself as a performer, Raghu was able to score herself three "yes" votes from the judges.

"I'm so proud of you," Richie said.

"It's so comfortable and your delivery is so natural," Bryan said.

Colby Swift

Telling an emotional story of his mother leaving during his childhood, Colby Swift is looking to make something of himself through music. Singing "Cast No Stones" by Cody Jinks, the 19-year-old country singer was "unpolished" but all three judges couldn't see him leave.

"You've got something that makes us pay attention to you," Richie said.

"You're so unpolished, but if you listen to our advice and really work on it, you've really got something," Perry said.

Evelyn Cormier

Coming from New Hampshire, this 19-year-old singer had quite the unique, breathy song. Performing her rendition of "Wicked Game" by Chris Isaak, Evelyn Cormier became Perry's "favorite voice."

"Your song is yours," Richie said.

"Pick the right songs, because you are my favorite voice," Perry added.

Getting three "yes" votes, Cormier is headed to Hollywood.

Ashley Hess

At first, considering a career path as a dental hygienist, California-born Ashley Hess got a "late start" to music. At 27 years old, Hess moved to Nashville to take a risk and pursue her musical dreams.

Singing Nora Jones' "Don't Know Why," the judges were dumbfounded by her talent and grabbed their chairs to join her at the piano.

"I think you can win this," Perry said.

"You could knock this out of the ballpark," Richie added.

Elizabeth Gaba

This 19-year-old singer proves that music is in her blood. Going by her last name, Elizabeth Gaba, knew she was born from an anonymous egg donor and upon meeting her in person, she realized she had a lot in common with her donor mom, Amy–such as performing in the same college acapella group.

"Her voice is actually pretty similar to mine," Gaba noted.

Performing her rendition of Adele's "All I Ask," the 19-year-old college student impressed judges with her "polished" voice.

Gaba got three "yes" votes and is headed to Hollywood.

Peach Martine

Though she convinced Perry that she was a robot, Peach Martine was able to win the judges over with her original song "You Caught My Eye."

"Yeah, then your original song showed me a lot of character that did you a lot of favors," Bryan said. "So I'm kind of a fan of the old robot in front of us."

Perry didn't think the straight-A student had enough "heart" in her singing; however, both Bryan and Richie gave her a "yes," thus sending her through to Hollywood.

Dalton Elliott

Dedicating his American Idol audition to his 3-year-old son Nash, Dalton Elliott performed his rendition of "Boy" by Lee Brice.

"There are singers my friend and then there are storytellers you were telling that story like a master," Richie complimented.

Perry asked for a bit more consistency in his vocals and advised Elliott to make sure he wasn't straining his voice. Taking the judge's advice, Elliott received three "yes" votes and is headed to Hollywood.

Katie Belle

The last audition of the night went to Georgia-native Katie Belle. Performing "Golden Slumbers" by The Beatles, it looked like the 19-year-old had Bryan completely smitten. While the country singer was head over heels for Belle, Perry and Richie both noted that she needed some more "developing."

Despite her voice needing some refining, the 19-year-old got three "yes" votes and began the final contestant of the night to go through to Hollywood.

Find out who will be next to receive a ticket to Hollywood when American Idol airs on ABC Monday at 8 p.m. ET.

Uncommon Knowledge

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Hannah Preston works remotely from the Los Angeles area. She studied Journalism & New Media at California Baptist University and interned ... Read more

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