BY ISABELLA BEELER

The latest episode of American Idol was on Easter. They did an Easter special with Christian songs and artists. Some of the judges sang and they had many special guests. All the contestants did wonderful. I really liked that they sang Christian songs and had Christian artists perform. Easter is all about Jesus according to Christians. American Idol is not considered a Christian show, however they have had Christian artists on before.

The first performance of the night was Lionel Richie performing his song “Eternity”. The next performance was Canaan James Hill performing his rendition of “Better Days” by Le’Andria Johnson. Hill is only 17 and is hoping to be a preacher. He wowed the judges in the past at his audition performing “I Need Your Glory” by Earnest Pugh. Another contestant, Drew Ryn, sang “Yellow” by Coldplay. That is not a traditional Christian song, but she made it her own and interpreted it as a conversation with God. That is really cool. Contestant Thunderstorm Artis, had a great performance, too. He sang “Reckless Love” and the judges said that he was energetic and powerful. I like that he not only sang, but played the guitar.

One of this special’s biggest performances was “Hard Fought Hallelujah” by Brandon Lake and Jelly Roll. Brandon Lake came out with this song in 2024 and on February 7 he released a version with Jelly Roll. They sing it together because they both understand what it’s like to go through hard things and still choose to lift a song of hope. Lake said that he was too scared to ever audition for American Idol and has been waiting for this opportunity to perform there. He was nervous to be in front of the incredible judges. Later, another special guest, Cece Winans, performs with former American Idol contestant Roman Collins. They sang “Come Jesus Come” and it was a great performance. 

Carrie Underwood is a judge on American Idol and she closed out the night performing “How Great Thou Art”. She has been pretty open about her faith in the past. Luke Bryan is another judge and he credited Underwood for the rush of gospel and faith-based performances this season of the show. The song and her voice were beautiful. Bryan performed that night, too. He sang “Jesus ‘Bout My Kids” and it was amazing.

I only touched on some of the performances, but all of them were great. I love that this was a faith-based episode. I would like to see more faith-based episodes not just for holidays, but for other days too.