DRAPER, Utah -- It was quite a feat to have two Utah singers make it to the Top 30 on this season of “American Idol.”
Unfortunately, neither had a chance to sing last week for a spot in the finals.
FOX 13 News spoke with both Utah contestants about their journey cut short and what’s next. From activity on social media, it seems the biggest complaint, at least from Utah fans, about last Tuesday’s show was not getting to see either girl perform.
Draper’s Kenzie Hall has said her goal was never to win, but to get as far as she could and learn as much as she can. Still, she said the sting of last week was tough.
“I thought, you know, 'I have this in the bag,'” she said. “'I’m getting so much love from people and, they’re loving what I did in Hollywood Week', so I thought I would be able to perform and then I guess not.”
Then, disappointment during the first live show last Tuesday.
“It was terrifying to hear the names each time, and once it got down to smaller and smaller numbers it kind of just became like, alright, these girls are obviously going to make it so Austin and I kind of mentally prepared ourselves beforehand to be honest,” she said.
Fan reaction to the judges’ decision to eliminate both girls has been overwhelming.
“I’m getting so many people just coming to me and saying, ‘You didn’t even get a chance’ and that bugged people and that bugged me,” she said. “I’d worked hard to get the place I was at and then it was just taken from me and that really upset me.”
Emotions were high for Kenzie when we saw her during Hollywood Week. Tears were flowing in front of the judges as she learned her fate prior to the live show. She was a good sport when we asked her about it.
“I had not cried,” she said. “People bawled during Hollywood Week, I didn’t bawl once, and then the one time I bawled they were like: vroom, cameras.”
Fans will most certainly see Kenzie again, probably not in tears, but with a guitar in hand doing what she loves.
“I’m going to work on new music obviously,” she said. “I’m still going to sing. People ask me 'Are you still going to sing?' It’s like of course I’m going to sing – I’m not done singing because of it, but it was just a roadblock and I’m working on a new album and I’ll be doing shows and stuff like that.”
For the self-described introvert, the fans themselves are something she’s not sure she’ll ever get used to.
“It’s still definitely a little weird seeing these people that know me but I don’t know them,” she said.
We asked both Kenzie and Austin who they think will take the top spot this season and both say, “I don’t know!” Because their opinions will carry a lot of weight, they have to keep their opinions on this season’s front runners to themselves.
