It’s another exciting night of American Idol on ABC tonight with an all-new Monday, January 26, 2026, season 9 episode 1 called “Auditions” and we have your weekly American Idol recap below.
On tonight’s American Idol season 9 episode 1 as per the ABC synopsis,“Luke, Lionel, Carrie and Ryan welcome the newest class of hopefuls to Idol University in Nashville, where future stars take their first steps toward becoming the next American Idol.”
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In today’s American Idol episode, it was the first day of Auditions. They were joined by new judge, Carrie Underwood. She began as a contestant and now she returned as a chart-topping judge. Up first was Lucas Leon. He was a country boy. It’s a good thing too because the panel of judges are heavily in favor of that genre.
Lucas also chose to perform an original song and that could’ve been a problem for them. The judges couldn’t follow along to an original song. It either had to be really great or you’ve blown your chances at Hollywood. Luckily, Lucas’s song won him the Golden Ticket.
Keyla Richardson was next up. She was older. She’s been on her musical journey a little longer and she still got the fight. She was a mom. Her son was actually waiting right outside trying to overhear everything at the door.
He was adorable. Keyla performed “Glitter In The Air” by Pink. Luke Bryant had needed to hear the first part over again because he was so entranced. He was moved to tears by Keyla’s voice. She won over the judges. She can easily win over America. She received the Golden Ticket tonight.
Keyla was followed by a baseball team. No, really. This whole team came in to celebrate one of their own. They played for banana baseball league. It was baseball purely for entertainment. The real performer was Jason Arendt.
He performed “Fire Away” by Chris Stapleton. It was a little rocky. There was room for improvement and at the same time there was good voice there. He too got a Golden Ticket. He also got party with his friends afterwards. One of whom made Carrie blush when he took off his shirt.
Daniel Stallworth was up next. He performed “Don’t Stop Believin”. He put an almost gospel spin on it. He was another teacher and he chose that song because it was personal motto.
He inspired the judges like he inspired his students. He received the Golden Ticket, but he gave Luke the idea to play the piano. He was followed by Tate Emmons. Tate could sing before he could truly talk. He began singing at his church at three. He was now fifteen and as one of the youngest face – he gave a good “Hallelujah”.
He performed it only his guitar skills were better than his vocal skills. He sounded younger than his age. There was promise there. It just needed additional time to grow into something more. He didn’t get a yes tonight. There’s always the future. He has an American Idol alumni backing him up. He just has to keep going. Next up was Jesse Findling. He has a stutter. He’s had it since he was a small kid. His younger brother has it too and so he wanted to show his brother how to be brave. He performed “In The Stars” by Benson Boone.
The only time that neither of them stutter was when they sing. Jesse’s voice was beautiful. His career won’t be easy. His stutter was going to pose a challenge and the judges firmly believed he could handle it. His voice shouldn’t be hidden away. He got the Golden Ticket tonight. He was followed by Genevieve Heyward. She came with a bigger entourage than the baseball player. They all came waring her face on a shirt. She apparently loves pickles so the pickles were included on the shirts.
She took on a tough song. She performed “Magic Man” by Heart. She changed the melody a little. She made the song her own and that along with the raspiness at the higher end of her voice sealed the deal. The judges liked her. They were going to remember her as pickle girl and that’s a sign she left an impression. She received the Golden Ticket to Hollywood. Next up was Brock Ryne. He has an old school voice. It matched the song identity. He chose “Sherry” by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It’s a good song. He did justice to it. The problem lies is that they didn’t hear him. They only heard rendition.
Brooks Rosser was up next. Brooks was always a shy kid. He had a problem making friends as a kid. He was super close to his grandmother and then she began suffering from dementia. He now works with dementia patients. He sings for them. He takes care of them. He was able to bond with them thanks in large part to his own grandmother. Now Brooks said his voice was unique. The judges just weren’t expecting something so poetically beautiful. He performed “Your Place At My Place” by Joshua Sloane.
Which they loved. They loved him so much that they wanted to hear more of his voice. He next performed “Knock On Heaven’s Door. It was just as perfect as the first. He stood out in a good way. Not everyone did. There was one girl who had a demonic voice. She didn’t perform in the demonic voice. She just talked in it sometimes. It turned off the judges and ended up not mattering that her real voice sounded like butter. The first night was hosted in Nashville, but there were a lot of people coming in with a guitar. Or some instrument.
Next up was Lainey Grace. She was sixteen. She played the piano for her rendition “Honest” by Kyndal Inskeep. It was a little breathy. She tried again. That time she was no longer hiding behind the piano. It was good. Not good enough for the judges unfortunately. She didn’t get the ticket and her personal idol did. Kyndal Inskeep performed. She got her ticket to Hollywood. She also hugged Lainey afterwards. They were friends now. Kyndal was so happy to be inspiring the younger generation already.
There was one guy who didn’t want to be shown at first. He wanted to make an entrance and he sure with “Take A Look At Me Now”. Bryant was a little shy. He went viral with him singing from the shower. His face has never been shown before so he took a risk by coming out tonight. It paid off because he has a special voice that earned him a ticket to Hollywood. He was so sweet that he even proposed to his girlfriend that night. She said yes. He said he would’ve always proposed. Ticket or no.
Khloe Grace was the last one up of the night. She wrote and performed an original song in honor of her friend who committed suicide in 2023. It was actually the mother of her late friend who introduced her. The song came from the heart and it won her a ticket to Hollywood. She was one of the youngest there. The judges haven’t let much teenagers in so the ones they do had to be special. And she was.
THE END!
