Every one of the 12 “American Idol” contestants who took the stage during the second night of season 23’s live performances in Hawaii managed to get the celebrity judges out of their chairs to dance or applaud on April 14, 2025. But only one caused Luke Bryan to leap onto his chair, jumping up and down with excitement.
Bryan couldn’t contain himself as 24-year-old Josh King of Charlotte, North Carolina, wrapped up his joyful rendition of Elton John’s “I’m Still Standing.” It was one of several moments during the episode when the judges celebrated the growth of singers they’ve seen blossom in the months since they first auditioned for them in the fall of 2024. Those singers all now await their fate as viewers’ votes are tabulated.
Luke Bryan Predicts America Will ‘Fall In Love With’ Josh King
After King’s performance, complete with a soulful harmonica solo, host Ryan Seacrest sauntered onstage and pointed out, “Luke is jumping on the furniture. Nice moves up here!”
“I’m just excited for him,” Bryan said of King, an airport piano player who made it to Hollywood after his audition, but was challenged by the judges to shift from lounge singer to pop singer in the weeks ahead. Otherwise, they predicted, he’d flounder — but it seems King took their advice to heart.
“You’re the type of person America falls in love with,” Bryan told King after stepping down from his chair. “We remember your audition, and we remember every little growth to get to this point. And then, you just did a whole performance and when you brought the harmonica out, the intensity of the crowd went to another level. You’re working the stage, everything looks great, and America is gonna love you for that!”
Carrie Underwood agreed, telling King, “Before this just happened, I was just saying, ‘If you had told me on your first audition that you would be here, right now, just crushing it, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. But you have, like, come into your own. I feel like I was at the Josh show! I would have paid money — I will pay money — to hear a full two hours of that. Let’s go!”
Lionel Richie also sang King’s praises, telling him he “lit up the audience” and that he’s a “showman on top of being a great singer.”
Luke Bryan Says Season 23’s Hawaii Round Was Best Ever
“American Idol” first headed to Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii in 2019, per ABC, bringing the Top 40 contestants to Ko Olina to perform for a live audience. The judges — Bryan, Richie and Katy Perry — then narrowed down the competition to the Top 20 before live voting begin.
After that first year, the show cut the number of contestants who get to go to Hawaii to the Top 24, and now viewers get to vote on who will make it to the Top 20, which will be announced on the next episode, airing on April 20.
At the end of the April 14 episode, after Amanda Barise’s showstopping delivery of “Defying Gravity,” Bryan said it was fitting that her powerful performance would “kind of bookend and cap off what I think has been our best Hawaii experience we’ve ever had.”