“American Idol” revealed the first half of Season 13’s Top 30 on Wednesday night – and for one hopeful, her selection was noteworthy for much more than just her voice.
M.K. Nobilette became the first openly gay contestant in “American Idol’s” rather long history.
While other gay singers have competed on the show, M.K. is the first contestant to speak openly about their sexuality during the competition itself.
But it was the 20-year-old’s soulful rasp that truly captured the judges’ attention.
“There’s something about the way she delivers the song really gives me goose bumps,” judge Jennifer Lopez told Harry Connick Jr. during M.K.’s Hollywood week solo performance. “She is like a quiet storm.”
When it was time to let M.K. know if she had made the Top 30, the judges spoke about their deliberation process.
“We all kind of fell in love with your voice and your style, but you’re not the typical ‘American Idol,’” J.Lo explained to the young singer.
“No I’m not,” M.K. smiled back.
“And we wonder – is that a good thing? Is that a bad thing?” Harry interjected. “How do you fit in? Do you not fit in?”
“I have my own thoughts on that too,” M.K. replied. “I’m very obviously gay, and there are always gonna be people in America and everywhere else who will definitely hate me. But I think that in the last two years there have been a lot of things that have really changed that, and have made it a positive thing.”
“Thank goodness,” Harry noted.
“The world is changing, I think,” Jennifer added.
“We think that you could be an ‘American Idol,’ and we’d like you to be in our Top 15 girls,” she continued, with an emotional M.K. holding her head in her hands as she wept upon hearing the news.
(See M.K.‘s first “Idol” audition below at the 8:52 mark)…
Joining M.K. in the Top 30 (so far) are…
The women:
- Bria Anai
- Andrina Brogden
- Jillian Jensen
- Jessica Meuse
- Emily Piriz
- Kristen O’Connor
- Malaya Watson
The men:
- Malcolm Allen
- Jordan Brisbane
- Spencer Lloyd
- George Lovett
- Alex Preston
- Dexter Roberts
- Maurice Townsend
- Sam Woolf
- Emmanuel Zidor
C.J. Harris or Casey Thrasher will also be joining the men, but both hopefuls were left hanging, as they were brought in front of the judges together and the show went to “To Be Continued…” before announcing which of the two would be moving on.
The remaining Top 30 finalists will be revealed Thursday night on Fox.
— Eric Anderson
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