The competition on American Idol continues to get stiffer as more hopefuls turn in stellar auditions. This week will feature Liliana, a young singer/songwriter from San Antonio, Texas. She auditioned with an original song called “5 Percent” and wowed the judges. At the same time, fans of the show are already comparing her to the likes of Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo.
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It’s not unheard of for a contestant to bring an original song to American Idol for an audition. However, it isn’t something the judges see every day. So, it’s still rare enough to be a treat for them as well as the viewers. At the same time, it takes a certain amount of courage to bring something original to a national TV audience. Liliana proved her boldness when she sat down behind the piano to sing the deeply personal “5 Percent.”
Liliana Shares Her Story
Liliana shared more than an original song with the American Idol audience. She also shared some facts about herself in her intro interview. “I’m a teenage girl and I have a lot of feelings, about boys especially,” she said.
“Boys do really stir up those feelings. Especially teenage ones,” she continued. “I’m young so I might as well enjoy it and write a bunch of songs about stupid teenage boys while I can,” she added. “I would say I’m in my Taylor Swift era. Reputation. Do with that what you will.”
When introducing her song, Liliana told the American Idol judges, “I’m going to do an original song. It’s called “5 Percent” and that’s the amount of effort that that specific person gave me.”
American Idol Judges React to “5 Percent”
“I feel like that was just one long text message,” Katy Perry said. “Even though that song lacked a little bit of fundamental structure, I loved it,” she added. “It was raw, it was honest, it was vulnerable. You were taking your inner thoughts and displaying them to the world. But, I do wonder if you’ve got range.”
“I want you to understand that there’s potential there. But, you just can’t nonchalantly walk out there and say ‘La la la,’” Lionel Richie said. “I just want to toughen you up and you’ve got to get into the guts of you. You look at Taylor, she’s guts. She dives in it,” he added. “You’re gonna have competition that’s swinging at you. So, I just want to prepare you for the next level of you. It’s a yes for me.”
Perry agreed, telling Liliana “It’s time to be BOLD because you’re going to Hollywood.”
American Idol Fans React to Liliana
Fans of the show flocked to the comments section of the video to praise Liliana’s American Idol audition.
“She sounds so much like Olivia [Rodrigo],” one commenter said. “Same tone and the way she phrases her words. So Talented.”
“She reminds me of an Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish mix,” another opined.
“Can we just give her a record deal? No notes! I totally hear the Olivia influence! She’s ready now,” another wrote.
Tune in tomorrow (March 24) to see Liliana and more hopefuls audition on American Idol.
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