American Idol's Luke Bryan Made A Bold Top 10 Prediction With This Contestant

While the audition rounds are over and the Top 24 have been selected for Season 23 of American Idol, one contestant had to work even harder to prove herself to the judges. 20-year-old Zaylie Windsor is among the Top 24, but she did not have an easy ride during her audition process. In fact, if it wasn’t for new judge and Idol Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood, believing in her, Zaylie might not have even made it past the audition rounds.

Judge Luke Bryan did not seem to think that Zaylie was ready for a show like Idol. However, her “Hollywood Week” round of auditions seemed to completely change the country singer’s mind. Zaylie is proving to be a strong contender in the Top 24. She’s setting herself apart with her unique vocals and stage presence.

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American Idol’s Luke Bryan Believes Contestant Zaylie Windsor Will Make The Top 10

Zaylie Was One Of Four Contestants To Skip Head-To-Head Rounds During “Hollywood Week”

American Idol Season 23 contestant Zaylie Windsor redeemed herself after her “Hollywood Week: Showstopper” performance, especially after Luke Bryan gave her a “no” during her audition round.

The 20-year-old singer/songwriter chose to prove Luke and others wrong when she decided to sing Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” for her showstopper performance. Talking about why she decided to chose the popular hit song, she shared, “It shows more of my range and what I can do as a performer.”

However, Zaylie was also full of nerves. Before she got up on stage, she admitted that she had never sang in front of such a large audience before. “I’m really nervous about holding back on stage like I did in my audition,” she added.

“I tend to get super nervous about things. Some of the notes are really high. Not out of my range but not really in my comfort zone. I think I’m really pushing myself with this,” Zaylie shared. “Especially with a song this big you really can’t hold back or it’s not going to hit like I really want it to.”

Zaylie certainly did not hold back. She put it all out there on the Idol stage, proving to the judges that she was worthy of making it to the next round. After her stunning performance, she received a standing ovation by Carrie, Lionel, and even Luke, who had doubted Zaylie.

“Welcome to the Zaylie show,” Carrie was heard telling the other judges.

In fact, Luke was blown away. “She has put herself definitely in the Top 10,” with Lionel agreeing.

The judges were so impressed by Zaylie’s performance that she advanced to the Top 24 along with three other contestants —Canaan James Hill, Gabby Samone, and 15-year-old Mattie Pruitt. These four contestants did not have to sing in the “Head-to-Head” round.

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Zaylie Got A “No” From Luke Bryan During Auditions, But Carrie Underwood Believed She Had Something Special

Carrie Underwood Compared Zaylie To Taylor Swift

When Zaylie auditioned for Season 23 of American Idol, she decided to sing an original song with her guitar. Fans saw many contestants audition with original songs, which could be extremely risky. We saw it with Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell’s son, Baylee Littrell, who is also in the Top 24.

Zaylie told the judges that she wrote her song, titled, “The Used,” when she was just 14-years-old. While she may have shown a few nerves, Zaylie did really well in her audition, with Carrie stating, “You showed us a lot in your voice. You can go from being small and focused to, like, soaring. I’m impressed at the song, as well. I feel like you’ve got a lot of artistry in there.”

However, Luke needed more convincing and did not think that Zaylie was ready for the show. “Gosh, I don’t think she’s quite ready,” the country singer shared. But, Carrie saw “something about her” and wanted to see what else Zaylie might have in store. In fact, she made a compelling argument to convince Luke to give Zaylie a shot at “Hollywood Week,” even comparing her to Taylor Swift.

“My thing is, there’s a Taylor Swift-esque quality that she has,” Carrie shared. She added, “She doesn’t have this giant vibrato, belty voice, but there’s something in there. If she did that at 14, she must have a lot of other things in her arsenal that she could bring to the table. … I feel like there’s something about her.”

Carrie’s convincing worked on Luke, who decided that Zaylie should get another shot at performing in front of them. Thankfully, he did not regret his decision after her impressive “Hollywood Week: Showstopper” performance.

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Who Else Made It To The Top 24?

Several Of The Top 24 Contestants Have Appeared On Other Reality TV Singing Competition Shows

American Idol Season 23’s Top 24 are among the show’s best, showcasing powerful vocals and impressive stage presence. It was a tough call for judges, Lionel, Luke, and Carrie, to eliminate hopeful contestants as they narrowed it down to those they believed truly deserved a spot in the Top 24. However, now it remains in the viewers’ hands as these contestants will have to depend on votes to make it through week after week.

Fans of reality TV singing competition shows may have seen a few of these Top 24 contestants before. For instance, fan-favorite, Thunderstorm Artis, was a finalist in Season 18 of The Voice in 2020. He ultimately placed third that season, with Todd Tilghman winning it all.

Victor Soloman also appeared on Season 20 of The Voice. Like Thunderstorm Artis, Victor also found himself in the finale, but ultimately placed fifth.

Fan-favorite MKY (pronounced “Mikey”) also starred in a singing reality TV show that only lasted one season. In 2017, MKY auditioned for the ABC show, Boy Band, which featured male singers competing to be part of a boy band. MKY made it to the Top 8 before being eliminated. However, he and other contestants from the show formed their own boy band called 4th Ave.

Other Top 24 contestants that have also starred in other competition reality TV shows include Kyana Fanene, who appeared on The Sing-Off Season 4 with the a cappella group, Vocal Rush. Drew Ryn appeared on X Factor USA Season 1 and finished in 6th place, while Che Chesterman tried out for X Factor UK Series 12, and came in third.