‘American Idol’ top 11: Julia Gargano wows with ‘NY State of Mind’ performance
“American Idol” has revealed its top 11 after two weeks of at-home performances, including from Upstate New York college student Julia Gargano.
Gargano, a 21-year-old senior at the College of St. Rose in Albany, wowed the judges with a performance of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” from her Staten Island home. Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie all gave her a standing ovation from their homes.
“I’m speechless,” Bryan said. “That might be my most favorite performance of the year. 12 out of 10… great job.”
“You’ve taken a Billy Joel song and made it your song,” Richie gushed.
Ryan Seacrest revealed in the episode that Gargano was one of 11 contestants from the top 20 to advance to Sunday night’s episode.
The rest of the finalists include Arthur Gunn, Dillon James, Sophia James, Louis Knight, Grace Leer, Francisco Martin, Makayla Phillips, Just Sam, Jovin Webb and Jonny West. Phillips was added to the top 10 when the judges decided to use their only save of the season, stretching the top 10 to 11.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, “American Idol” is now filming contestants in their homes and airing them weekly to let fans vote for their favorites online, via the Idol app, and by text. The top 7 will be revealed next Sunday.
According to ABC, the singing competition was able to continue with social distancing by shipping equipment to each home. Each performer gets one take, unless a technical glitch occurs.
“Me and my mom were in this room for, you know, like hours on end a day,” Gargano said. “Just like working little things, so when she hugged me, it meant so much more. Because once we wrapped, once we filmed that performance, it was just like, ‘We did it. This is all me and you.’”
Gargano has been an early favorite since her audition with an original song, continuing to impress in Hollywood and Hawaii with performances of songs like Pink’s “Glitter in the Air” and Brandi Carlile’s “The Joke.” Live episodes with performances in front of a crowd were supposed to begin in April, but the COVID-19 crisis forced the show to make changes.
“American Idol” continues Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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Image Source:*syracuse.com
Source:syracuse.com
