Wichita-area teen sings for her chance to advance on ‘American Idol’ but falls short
One of the Wichita area’s two “American Idol” hopefuls is out of the running after Sunday night’s episode.
But she’s not done with music, says Makayla Brownlee, a 17-year-old from Wellington who made it onto the singing competition’s list of Top 40 semifinalists but failed to advance to the Top 20.
“I’m just going to keep doing what I do and sing and see what happens and I guess just take it step by step,” Makayla said during a phone interview on Monday morning.
Wichita will have to wait a week to see if its other Top 40 semifinalist, singer Arthur Gunn, advances to the Top 20 acts that will eventually appear on the live shows. His performance was not included in Sunday’s episode but should air on the April 5 show.
“Idol” has not yet decided how it will handle the live competition. On Sunday, April 12, and on Sunday, April 19, it will air new episodes titled “American Idol: This is Me,” which profiles the top 20 contestants. In the meantime, “we are monitoring the situation and exploring multiple options within statewide guidelines. We will share a production plan as soon as it’s in place,” a statement from “Idol” reads.
On Sunday’s episode, the remaining 40 singers were asked to perform as part of a “showcase” that featured an outdoor stage, a live audience and celebrity judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan watching from a platform in the back. In a clip that aired before the show started, host Ryan Seacrest assured the viewing public that the episode was filmed in Hawaii in January, before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted life in America.
Makayla’s performance was among the first to air. She chose to sing a rearranged, uptempo version of the Ingrid Andress song “More Hearts Than Mine.”
She appeared on the stage wearing a floral-print romper, and she was able to sing this time without having to stop. The previous week, when Brownlee was singing for a chance to advance to the top 40, she was seen rushing from the stage and had a seizure, succumbing to a disorder called neurocardiogenic syncope that she’s long suffered from.
This time, she made it through, smiling as she danced around the stage with her parents, her boyfriend and 15 other family members who made the trip to Hawaii cheering her on from the audience.
But when it was time to critique her performance, the judges — especially Bryan — said they didn’t love the new arrangement of the favorite country song.
“That’s probably one of the hottest country songs in country music right now,” Bryan said to his fellow judges. “I can’t believe she changed it up that much.”
When Makayla was shown sitting down with the judges to learn her fate, Bryan spoke.
“You’re going to inspire some people. You’ve inspired us in a lot of ways. We’ve enjoyed watching you every night,” he told Makayla. “I don’t think last night was your strongest performance, and we’re at the time of the competition where everybody has to be at the top of their game. For right now, you’re not going to make it into the Top 20.”
Makayla said she watched Sunday’s episode with her family and that going through it all for a second time might have been tougher than the first time.
She plans to try out for “American Idol” again, she said, though she might take a year off.
But she’s not going to stop singing and said she is excited to see what kind of opportunities will be out there once the world recovers from the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m still thankful and happy with how far I made it,” she said.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 2:48 PM.
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