ABC Grace Franklin
ABC’s “American Idol” returned for season 20 on Sunday, February 27, 2022. The first round of the competition featured auditions from all over the country, including that of Grace Franklin.
Franklin auditioned for judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan.
Grace Franklin is music legend Aretha Franklin’s granddaughter, but the judges will not let that stop them from telling her no to Hollywood if they don’t think she’s ready to move on.
Grace Sings Two Songs During Her Audition
Grace sings “Killing Me Softly” by Lauren Hill, but the judges don’t think it shows off her chops enough, so they ask her to perform something else. Then, she pulls out her rendition of “Ain’t No Way” by her grandmother.
“I loved your rendition of your grandma’s song,” Perry tells her when she finished.
Bryan specifically called out her skilled runs that she was able to pull off during the performances.
“Your runs are really, really great,” Bryan said. “When you do your runs, they’re really great… very controlled. The only thing I’m feeling is I think if you add command to your moment, it gives you a better chance to make it through some rounds in this competition.”
Richie added, “I’m gonna talk to you now as Uncle Richie and your grandmother talking to me. Her line was, ‘If you’re not ready for me, baby, don’t come near me.’ Now, you’re 15. You’ve got the family lineage. What we need to put now is time and some work in to get it up to par, OK?”
Bryan agreed that Grace was not quite ready to move on, but Perry did not agree.
“Grace, I think you have stardust and sparkle all over you. You are beautiful and if you’ll trust us, if you’ll listen to us, and you’ll put in the work, I think we can find that next level with you. You’re a yes from me,” Perry said.
Richie said no because he thought she needed to “go back and get a running start.”
Perry implored the other judges to give Grace a chance.
“I’m sure Aretha wasn’t Aretha when she walked into the room, but somebody said, ‘Yes, I wanna work with you, I wanna develop you, you got something!’ She’s got stardust on her!” Perry said.
Richie didn’t want to backtrack, however. Instead, he thought Grace needed to work on her voice some more and get rid of the shyness.
“I quit this show, I’m gonna go to the bar!” Perry said, leaving the set. “Somethin’ is wrong with your ears, y’all are insane!”
Grace did not make it through to Hollywood Week.
Grace Has Performed with Jennifer Hudson
Grace performed at the premiere of the movie “Respect” alongside Jennifer Hudson. Together, they sang “Ain’t No Way.”
“What better what to celebrate Aretha Franklin than for her granddaughter @gfranklin61 to sing her song at the film premiere? She would be so proud !” Hudson posted on Instagram alongside a video of the performance.
“American Idol” airs on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time on ABC. Later in the season, the show will likely move to a two-nights-a-week format.