If you’ve been watching this season of American Idol, then you’ve no doubt been blown away by Olivia Ximines, who is just 16 years old but already appears to be on her way to a career as an amazing vocal talent. Season 18 features Ryan Seacrest once again as the host. Judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie are back for another set of contestants. Here are some things that you may not know about Olivia.
1. Olivia used a song by Tori Kelly in her initial song
That’s right, she belted out a powerful performance of “Language.” Olivia might be short of stature, but her voice is definitely one of the larger ones that has shown up on that program in a while. The range of her voice was even more impressive, as her ability to move from high to low and back up and down the scales left the judges simply blown away. Having the courage to take on such a challenging song as part of her audition makes Olivia look like the sort of courageous singer twice her age, instead of someone who is still in high school.
2. Olivia immediately got approval to move on to Hollywood Week
According to Meaww, it did not take long at all for Olivia to advance to the next round of consideration. Katy Perry called Olivia’s performance “phenomenal,” and all three judges signaled a “Yes” in response to her performance. Olivia ended up with a golden ticket that will advance her all the way to Hollywood Week. This is definitely a whirlwind response to her breakout performance.
3. Olivia’s dance team got to perform for the judges as well
Olivia did not come alone to her American Idol audition. Instead, she brought the rest of the dance team from her school — Orange Vista High School in California. Before the judges heard Olivia sing, the whole team got to show the judges their routine. However, they did not get to compete for a chance to go to Hollywood, according to Idol Chatter. The only one of them who had that opportunity was Olivia. The chance to dance for the likes of Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan was a once in a lifetime experience for most of those dance team members.
4. Katy Perry compared Olivia to Brandy
The decorated singer was so blown away by Olivia’s rendition of “Language” that she compared her skills to those of Brandy. What an amazing compliment! Olivia already had to have a considerable amount of confidence going into her initial performance because of the way she simply blew away the judges with her range and volume. This compliment by one of the most well known singers of the twenty-first century just has to have Olivia on Cloud Nine. It will be interesting to see how well she performs on Hollywood Week.
5. Olivia’s vocal coach also coached Tori Kelly for a number of years
In case you are wondering why Olivia chose “Language” for her audition song, she was introduced to the lyrics by her own vocal coach — who also coached Kelly for many years. Olivia also felt a personal connection to the song on a number of levels. She loved the way the song starts out in such a soulful way and then transitions into a groovy verse. That transition allowed her to showcase different skills at the same time, and it also helped her ease into some of the more difficult parts of the performance. Connections definitely make a difference!
6. Performing on American Idol was not Olivia’s first public performance experience
Olivia has been working with her vocal coach for two years now. In addition to Tori Kelley, he clearly has a number of other valuable contacts. We know this because he has arranged for her to sing the national anthem at Los Angeles Angels games on a couple of occasions. That prepares singers for a unique experience in a couple of ways. Not only are they singing in front of a massive audience, but they have to get used to that delay between when they sing the words and when the words come out of the public address system.
7. Olivia is also popular at her school – she was a junior homecoming princess
High school can be a real grind when it comes to making friends and dealing with the demands of what it takes to become popular. Thanks to her talents, Olivia has been able to negotiate that gauntlet and emerge at the top of the social network at her school. Her classmates voted her as a junior homecoming princess, so at the Homecoming game, she got to walk out onto the field with the rest of the Homecoming court.
8. Olivia announced her audition on American Idol via Instagram
According to Distractify, Olivia went right to social media to announce that she would be trying out as a competitor on the venerable reality show. She went on her Instagram account and posted some pictures of herself grinning, while she holds up a paper with the words “American Idol 5100” on it. The caption told her followers to watch her tryout, which took place on February 16.
9. Olivia has put other covers on social media
If you follow her Instagram account, you will see a cover of YMW Melly’s song “Suicidal,” along with a number of other shorter clips. She also has a video of herself covering Jessie Reyez’s song “Figures.” From the very beginning, it is pretty clear that she can sing. If she doesn’t emerge from this contest with a recording contest, the studios will definitely be missing out on one of the next generation’s rising vocal stars.
10. You can catch Olivia on Sundays on ABC
The episodes of American Idol air on Sunday nights at 8:00 pm Eastern and Pacific times. Even if you haven’t watched this show before, take a look this week to check out one of the next singular talents in the singing world
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