American Idol's Top 24 Contestants Who Where On Other Singing Reality TV Shows

American Idol Season 23 announced its Top 24 during the Monday, April 7th episode, after judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Idol Season 4 winner, Carrie Underwood — who replaced Katy Perry — made some very tough decisions.

The Top 24 is a roundup of extremely talented singers and songwriters from across the U.S. There’s 15-year-old Mattie Pruitt, the youngest contestant this season; 17-year-old aspiring preacher Canaan James Hill; and even a nepo baby, Baylee Littrell, son of Backstreet Boys’ Brian Littrell.

But avid reality TV viewers may recognize some familiar faces as a number of these Idol hopefuls have previously competed on other singing shows like The Voice and The X Factor. In fact, a couple of them even made it to the finale!

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Two Top 24 Idol Contestants Have Appeared On The Voice

Thunderstorm Artis And Victor Soloman Have Experience In Front Of Judges

American Idol judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood have picked the Top 24 of Season 23. With their soaring voices, stage presence, and personal stories, these 24 contestants stood out the most among the judges. Several of these contestants also appeared to stand out to viewers because they have seen them on television before.

Thunderstorm Artis narrowly missed Idol auditions because he met the upper age limit of 29. He auditioned in front of the judges with an original song called, “Don’t Let Me Let You Go” and got a standing ovation by the judges. The musician made it to the Top 24, but not without an electric performance alongside contestant Drew Ryn during the “Hollywood Week: Head-to-Head” round where they sang “The Night We Met” by Brandon Luke.

Fans of The Voice may remember Thunderstorm because he went pretty far in the competition series. The singer appeared in Season 18 and sang a rendition of The Beatles’ “Blackbird.” Thunderstorm would go on to have several amazing performances, but placed third on the show.

Another Top 24 contestant that also appeared on The Voice was Victor Soloman. During his Season 20 audition, Victor decided to sing John Legend’s “Glory.” However, it was a bold move as John was a coach that season. The Grammy-award-winning singer was impressed.

“I’ve literally zero times turned for someone singing my song. It’s just I scrutinize it more heavily than I normally would. But, I was like, ‘I don’t need to do that.’ I was like, ‘He’s doing some things I haven’t done that are better than what I would do with this song,” John told Victor.

Despite impressing John, Victor placed fifth that season.

Interestingly, Victor decided to sing Lionel’s song “Hello” during his Season 23 audition. The risky move certainly paid off.

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Two Idol Hopefuls Have Auditioned On X Factor U.K. And USA

Drew Ryn And Ché Chesterman Appeared On X Factor

Both Top 24 contestants, Drew Ryn and Ché Chesterman, tried out for The X Factor. The reality TV singing competition series is a lot like American Idol. However, one major difference is that X Factor allows groups and duos to also compete. The show first originated in the U.K. with Idol’s Ché appearing on X Factor UK Series 12. He made it quite far in the series, placing third.

It’s been a decade since Ché faced Simon Cowell (who judges American Idol from Season 1-9) on X Factor UK. For his audition, he sang Jessie J’s “Who You Are,” telling Simon that the music industry needed more soulful singers. After his performance, he received a standing ovation from the judge. On Idol, Che performed “Mirror” by Madison Ryann Ward and got three yeses from the judges.

Fans may also recognize Drew Ryn from the first-ever season of X Factor USA. The first season premiered in 2011 with Drew, who was only 14 at the time, taking the stage to sing a rendition of Justin Bieber’s “Baby.” The season also featured both former Idol judges Simon and Paula Abdul. Drew ended up placing 6th that season.

On Idol, Drew sang an original song titled, “Walk on Water” for Lionel, Luke and Carrie. She received a round of applause by all three judges, with Luke sharing, “She has, like, the best whisper singing I’ve ever heard.” During “Hollywood Week,” Drew sang a flawless rendition of “Black Friday” by Tom Odell. She was then partnered with Thunderstorm where they faced the judges yet again during their “Head-to-Head” audition, and blew them away with their duet performance of “The Night We Met.”

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What Other Reality TV Competition Shows Did These Idol Contestants Appear In?

MKY Tried Out For Boy Band And Jamal Roberts Appeared On Sunday Best

There are many other reality TV shows that these Idol contestants have appeared on. Unlike The Voice and X Factor, these shows weren’t as popular, with some lasting for a mere one season.

Fan-favorite MKY (pronounced “Mickey”), who sang a song entirely in Spanish for his “Hollywood Week” audition, appeared on the one-season reality TV show Boy Band in 2017. The show featured male singers who would compete to earn a spot in a boy band. MKY made it to the Top 8, but the singer and other contestants from the show formed their own band called 4th Ave. MKY eventually left the band to focus on a solo career.

Meanwhile, contestant Kyana Fanene and her high school a cappella group, Vocal Rush, auditioned for Season 4 of The Sing-Off on NBC. According to Idol Chatter, Vocal Rush made it to the finals where they sang Katy Perry’s “Roar,” but ended up placing third.

Olivier Bergeron, a 22-year-old truck driver, came into Idol auditions with his guitar to sing Jelly Roll’s “Save Me.” Although the judges were a little skeptical of him at first, he’s since proven himself by making it to the Top 24. Olivier hails from Canada and, in 2022, auditioned for the Canadian singing reality TV series Star Académie, which is quite similar to Idol. Per Idol Chatter, Olivier made it all the way to semifinals.

Last but not least, contestant Jamal Roberts, a Mississippi teacher, had previously appeared on BET’s Sunday Best. The show looks for the next greatest act in gospel music. Jamal appeared in the tenth season of the show and was a finalist.

While some Idol fans might see these contestants as having an advantage since it’s not their first reality TV audition, they still deserve credit for being committed to their dreams of making it big.