[Image credit: American Idol]
After 20-year-old, UCLA jazz major Sophia Wackerman‘s sparkling rendition of “Water” by Bishop Briggs delights judges, Katy Perry encourages the her to go by “Sophia Star” in honor of her late mom, professional singer, Naomi Star.
Season: 18
Song: “Water” by Bishop Briggs
Sophia Wackerman is from Long Beach, California. She got introduced to music because she comes from a musical family — her father, Chad Wackerman, is a drummer (often drums for James Taylor) and her late mother, Naomi Star, was a singer and was a backup vocalist for Belinda Carlisle.
The eighteenth season of the reality show singing competition American Idol premiered on February 16, 2020 on ABC. It is the third season to air on ABC since the series reboot; Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie returned as judges despite budget cuts. Ryan Seacrest continues as show host, Bobby Bones returns as in-house mentor.
American Idol is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It initially aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to April 7, 2016, for 15 seasons. It had a hiatus for two years, until March 11, 2018, when a revival of the series aired on ABC.
It started as an addition to the Idols format that was based on Pop Idol from British television, and became one of the most successful shows in the history of American television. The concept of the series involves discovering recording stars from unsigned singing talents, with the winner determined by American viewers using phones, Internet, and SMS text voting. The winners of the first seventeen seasons, as chosen by viewers, are Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze, Scotty McCreery, Phillip Phillips, Candice Glover, Caleb Johnson, Nick Fradiani, Trent Harmon, Maddie Poppe, and Laine Hardy respectively.
American Idol employs a panel of vocal judges who critique the contestants’ performances. The original judges, for the first through eighth seasons, were record producer and music manager Randy Jackson, singer and choreographer Paula Abdul, and music executive and manager Simon Cowell. The judging panel for the last three seasons on Fox consisted of singers Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick Jr. The sixteenth season brought three new judges: singers Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan. The first season was hosted by radio personality Ryan Seacrest and comedian Brian Dunkleman, but Seacrest remained as the sole master of ceremonies for the rest of the series.
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