Live vote moves Montgomery's Lady K and Pell City's Tristen Gressett to Idol's Top 11
The Alabama train is still rolling strong on season 20 of American Idol, with both Montgomery native Lady K and Pell City's Tristen Gressett making the cut for the Top 11 on Sunday's live episode.
Lady K's future was secured in the middle of the announcements, while Gressett was given the final spot.
They and the rest of the 11 will return for another live episode Monday at 7 p.m. on ABC for a judge's song contest — judges pick songs for them to perform. Host Ryan Seacrest said at the end of the episode that they will be singing for votes again that night.
"Tune in tomorrow things get trickyyyyy," Lady K posted on social media, just after the episode.
Each eligible voter is able to cast up to 30 votes — 10 on the American Idol app, 10 at idolvote.abc.com, and by texting the contestant number up to 10 times to 21523. Lady K's number. is 16, and Gressett's is 3.
Sunday's episode was different from previous voting competitions this season, in that all votes had to be cast during the live episode, and the results were announced at the end.
Tuskegee resident Lady K might have been a little nervous going into this round, performing Fantasia's "I Believe."
"This is a big performance for me," Lady K said on the episode. "This is going to be me walking in the shoes of my idol."
After a few stage presence tips from guest mentor Gabby Barrett, a season 16 finalist, Lady K took the stage and brought a performance celebrity judge Katy Perry described as "elegance personified."
"All around, the growth is just incredible," Perry said.
Judge Luke Bryan praised Lady K's song choices, and how her performances are never overdone.
"Look at you. I told you from the beginning that you were born enough. Do you understand that?" said judge and Tuskegee native Lionel Richie. "And now. from homeless to center stage, you're going to the next level. That was the best performance I've ever seen you do in your life."
Gressett, a 17-year-old high school student from Pell City, performed the Adam Lambert song "Whataya Want from Me," and got a special message.
"I want you to break a leg, sing from the heart and know that you are a star," Lambert told Gressett in a video.
The judges agreed, with Richie praising Gressett's stage presence and Perry saying that he keeps evolving.
"You came to play today," Bryan said.
Going home Sunday night were Ava Maybee, Allegra Miles and Dan Marshall.
Along with Lady K and Gressett, the Top 11 include Christian Guardino, Huntergirl, Leah Marlene, Nicolina, Jay, Noah Thompson, Emyrson Flora, Mike Parker and Fritz Hager.
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Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Lady K and Tristen Gressett make American Idol's Top 11 Sunday
