American Idol judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan began advancing or cutting the seventeenth season's 175 Hollywood Week hopefuls during Sunday night's broadcast on ABC.

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The judging panel told the 175 artists they first must sing a solo in the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles, CA.

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If a hopeful advances from this round, he or she would then participate in the Group Round. Those who make it through the Group round will then be asked to sing one more solo to help the judges determine their final set of contestants.

For the initial round of performances, the contestants took the stage one by one, and after 10 people performed, the judges would deliberate and eliminate, so a lot was riding on this one performance.

The following artists were shown performing impressive solos and raising the stakes for everyone else in the competition: Laci Kaye, a 23-year-old college student from Livingston, TX, who sang "Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin; Alejandro Aranda, a 24-year-old dishwasher from Pomona, CA, who sang "Sorry" by Justin Bieber; Madison Vandenburg, a 17-year-old high school student from Cohoes, NY, who sang "Already Gone" by Kelly Clarkson; and Margie Mays, a 25-year-old dog walker from Wilmington, DE, who sang "Lay Me Down" by Sam Smith.

Tyler Mitchell, a 26-year-old oil field mechanic from Florien, LA, who sang Vince Gill's "Whenever You Come Around," also shined, in addition to Logan Johnson, a 20-year-old golf shop attendant from Boise, ID, who performed "Sensible Heart" by City and Colour.

But the great performances didn't stop there.

More artists who were shown advancing to the Group Round were Eddie Island, a 25-year-old rideshare driver from Nashville, TN, who sang "I'll Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab For Cutie; Shawn Robinson, a 22-year-old hardware store associate from Atlanta, GA, who sang "Change Gonna Come" by Sam Smith; and Colby Swift, a 19-year-old fence painter from Midfield, TX, who performed "Before the Next Teardrop Falls" by Freddy Fender.

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Returning American Idol hopeful Laine Hardy, an 18-year-old musician from Livingston, LA, who performed "She Talks To Angels" by The Black Crowes, impressed the judges enough to move on.

And Jade Flores, a 22-year-old musician from Waxahachie, TX, who sang "Unchained Melody" by The Righteous Brothers, and Myra Tran, a 19-year-old high school student from Federal Way, WA, who sang "Chandelier" by Sia, also made it through.

More standout vocalists happened to be Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon, a 26-year-old music teacher from Catonsville, MD, who sang Carole King's "Beautiful"; Walker Burroughs, a 20-year-old college student and resident assistant from Birmingham, AL, who performed "Whereabouts" by Stevie Wonder; and Nate Walker, an 18-year-old singer from Pittsburgh, PA, who sang "I Believe In You And Me" by Whitney Houston.

A "yes" from the judges also went to Nick Townsend, a 26-year-old production assistant from Tekamah, NE, who performed "Life of the Party" by Shawn Mendes; Wade Cota, a 27-year-old musician from Phoenix, AZ, who performed "Litost" by X Ambassadors; and Dimitrius Graham, a 27-year-old retail associate from Baltimore, MD, who sang "The Wind Beneath My Wings" by Bette Midler.

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest also revealed at this stage of the competition that Juan Pablo, a 26-year-old ride share driver from North Hollywood, CA; Evelyn Cormier, a 19-year-old teacher from Claremont, NH; Ashley Hess, a 27-year-old dental hygienist from Fremont, CA; and Shayy, a 17-year-old high school student from Midlothian, VA, would continue on in Hollywood Week.

The highlighted artists who unfortunately did not make the cut in the first round of Hollywood Week were Courtney Penry, a 25-year-old from Houston, TX, who sang "Whole Lotta Woman" by Kelly Clarkson; Ashton Gill, a 20-year-old bridal shop associate from Livingston, LA, who sang "I Can't Make You Love me" by Bonnie Raitt; and Lauren Engle, a 27-year-old musician from Redlands, CA, who sang "Jesus, Take The Wheel" by Carrie Underwood.

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It was also the end of the road for Peach Martine, a 16-year-old high school student from Miami Beach, FL; Jorgie, a 23-year-old rideshare driver from Los Angeles, CA; and Landon Knowlton, a 24-year-old from Tupelo, MS.

For the Group Round, the 98 remaining contestants were required to perform for Katy, Luke and Lionel in groups and achieve harmonies as well as a blended sound.

However, the singers were also looking to stand out as individuals and solo artists and prove their stamina to the judging panel.

This round tends to be "survival of the fittest" and each group's goal was to entertain and sound like a cohesive unit.

The first group was called "Diversity" and comprised of Myra; Jade; Juan Pablo; and Moriah Formica, an 18-year-old musician from Latham, NY. They performed "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson, and everyone in the group advanced except for Jade.

Zebulon Spencer, a 27-year-old warehouse worker from Dudley Shoals, NC, was unfortunately eliminated during Group Round, as was Chloe Channell, a 16-year-old high school student from Pace, FL.

Ethan Payne, a 15-year-old high school student from Macon, GA, also didn't make the cut.

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A group called "Diamond Dixies" performed "Grenade" by Bruno Mars and was made up of Laci Kaye; Katie Belle, a 19-year-old model and musician from Atlanta, GA; Laine; and Colby.

Laine, Katie and Laci Kaye advanced to the next round from this group, and the judges were sad to say goodbye to Colby after he forgot his words.

But Colby wasn't the only hopeful to forget his words, as Wade struggled to remember his lyrics as well.

Wade, however, still made it through, along with Kason Lester, a 29-year-old strawberry farmer from Lebanon, TN.

Grayson Little, a 27-year-old "beertender" from Charleston, SC, was ousted from the competition at this stage.

"Unexpected Vibe" was comprised of Shayy; Dimitrius; Assata Renay, a 26-year-old musician from New Orleans, LA; and William Oliver Jr., a 23-year-old church music coordinator from Jacksonville, FL.

Unexpected Vibes took the stage with "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys, and everyone except William advanced.

And the last group of the night, "Ain't Goin' Home," featured Logan and Nate, but Nate came down with a sickness complaining of a headache and stomach ache.

Nate was therefore taken out of the theater and brought to the hospital via ambulance.

Hollywood Week will continue on Monday night's American Idol broadcast with more from the Group Round and the commencement of the legendary "Solo Round," according to Seacrest. The host teased viewers will apparently see some of the best performances in Idol history.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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