What Maddie Poppe Thinks Of This Season’s ‘American Idol’ Contestants
ABC Reading Time: 4 minutes
Last year’s American Idol winner Maddie Poppe may be releasing new singles left and right these days, but she hasn’t forgotten her roots on the show. In fact, she watches the new episodes and live tweets her thoughts.
Maddie shares positive feedback for just about every contestant on the show. It should be noted that Margie Mays was her favorite this season, but she was unfortunately eliminated in the Final Judgment. “MARGIE MAYS WILL ALWAYS BE MY AMERICAN IDOL,” Maddie tweeted afterward.
Maddie has plenty of other favorites, however, so let’s take a look at what she’s tweeted about the Top 14 contestants.
1. Alejandro Aranda
She may put an extra L in his name, but Maddie is clearly just as impressed by Alejandro as the judges and viewers are. She’s called him “captivating,” and praised him for being “humble,” saying, “Love these kinds of people.” She also listed him as one of her favorites in a Q&A.
First question: how did Alyssa get a Paramore song to clear? That’s near impossible. Second question: THIS IS AN INCREDIBLE SONG CHOICE AND SHES BRINGING IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL. GREAT JOB @AlyssaRaghu
— Maddie Poppe (@MaddiePoppe) April 2, 2019
2. Alyssa Raghu
Maddie knows Alyssa from their time on the show together last season. The winner praised Alyssa’s choice to sing Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun” for her Top 20 solo. She was particularly impressed that Alyssa got the song to clear for the show. Alyssa replied saying the tweet “made me smile.”
3. Ashley Hess
Last week, Maddie praised Ashley’s choice to sing John Mayer’s “Dreaming With a Broken Heart” for her Top 20 solo. She added that she seems like a “girl next door.” Ashley replied, “You are a dream. Thanks girl.”
4. Dimitrius Graham
Maddie agreed with the judges that Dimitrius’ duet with Lukas Graham was possibly the best performance of the night. She previously praised his performance of Sam Smith’s “Latch” in Hawaii, calling it “the strongest performance I’ve heard IN A LONG TIME.”
5. Eddie Island
Maddie has complimented Eddie’s “ruggedness” and said she gets “Death Cab For Cutie vibes” from his voice. She’s also compared him to Post Malone and Imagine Dragons, saying his performances give her chills. “I didn’t see that octave change coming. Go Eddie,” she tweeted about him during Hollywood Week.
6. Evelyn Cormier
Unfortunately, Maddie doesn’t appear to have commented on Evelyn’s voice yet. However, she did remark that the ladies on the show this season are “gorgeous,” joking that she worries about boyfriend Caleb Lee Hutchinson falling in love with them. We can probably include Evelyn in that list.
7. Jeremiah Lloyd Harmon
Maddie named Jeremiah as one of her favorites this season. She called him “the next Paul Simon” and thinks he could win the whole thing. She also joked, “I liked @jlloydharmon until he sang Landslide better than me.”
8. Laci Kaye Booth
Laci is another one of Maddie’s favorites. She said she has a “timeless voice” and called her “the next Stevie Nicks.” Maddie called her performance of “Mercy” with Brett Young “perfect,” saying she had goosebumps. “I love Laci so much,” she tweeted last week.
9. Laine Hardy
Laine is another comeback from Maddie’s season. She tweeted of his transformation in Hawaii, “I did NOT see that coming.” She later praised his new style, comparing him to artists like Allen Stone and Chris Stapleton and saying “he’s bringing it to a new level.”
10. Madison VanDenburg
Madison is another one of Maddie’s favorites this season. She’s so “crazy talented,” she got Maddie confused about which show she was on, as she joked that she was waiting for a “4 chair turn.” She also called her “cute,” as well as “humble, sweet and happy.”
11. Riley Thompson
Maddie praised Riley for bringing “real country” to the show instead of trying to “fit the mold of modern country.” She pointed out that the yodel in her voice “isn’t easy,” and called her “gorgeous.”
12. Uché
Maddie praised Uché for emerging as a front runner after being an “underdog.” She also pointed out how “comfortable” he is on stage. “I think it’s important you don’t play all your cards right away,” she said.
13. Wade Cota
Wade is another contestant Maddie listed as one of her favorites this season. She shared that he reached out to her before auditioning, and she “knew he had something special.” She said his duet with lovelytheband was his “best performance so far” and praised him for using the stage without his guitar. She’s also said she loves his “heart and attitude and humor and voice.”
14. Walker Burroughs
Maddie praised Walker for promoting his music on Twitter, telling other contestants to learn from him. During duets, she tweeted at him saying that she also gets nervous about moving around on stage. He said that was “reassuring.” She also joked about the Harry Potter comparisons the judges make, tweeting, “Everyone likes a Harry Potter boy. Before I met Caleb, I dated MANY Harry Potters.”
