'American Idol' Season 18: Grace wins first remote vote, fans say Lauren deserved to reach the Top 20 as well

Since the judges couldn't make that decision during their time in Hawaii when they whittled down the Top 40 to Top 20, they had left Grace Leer and Lauren Mascitti's vote to fans
Grace, Lauren (ABC/Karen Neal)
Grace, Lauren (ABC/Karen Neal)

Following the Top 20 reveal in Hawaii, on 'American Idol' Season 18, Grace Leer and Lauren Mascitti had to wait for the Idol fate to be revealed. 

Only one amongst the two could move on to next week's first-ever Remote Edition. Since the judges couldn't make that decision during their time in Hawaii when they whittled down the Top 40 to Top 20, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan left that decision to fans who were asked to vote for their favorite contestant online. 

For their performance in Hawaii, Grace performed her rendition of 'Natural Woman' by Aretha Franklin and Lauren performed her rendition of 'Two More Bottles of Wine' by Emmylou Harris. Revealing the judges' decision in Hawaii, Luke shared, "We couldn’t make a decision, we couldn’t agree." 

After a long wait, 'American Idol' Season 18 finally revealed which among the two contestants advanced to the Top 20 with America's first-ever remote vote. On Sunday night, April 19, the episode began with Part 2 of 'This is Me' where the series featured unseen footage of all Top 20 contestants. At the end of the two-hour episode, Ryan Seacrest, seated in his living room, revealed who among Grace and Lauren won the vote.

Joined by the two contestants from their living room as well, Ryan revealed that Grace won most of the votes and now advances to next week's first-ever Remote Edition where the Top 20 contestants will perform. Though Lauren was upset that she didn't advance, she did send a virtual hug to Grace who promised to make country music proud. 

Taking to Twitter post the reveal, though fans were glad that Grace made it through, they were also upset since most felt Lauren deserved to go through as well. Some fans stated that there were other contestants who performed poorly and didn't deserve to go through and it should have been Lauren going through instead. 

"Lauren got robbed! But good luck and go Grace! #AmericanIdol," a fan wrote. While another added, "Sucks they couldn't both make it through. Happy for Grace, that's who I voted for. But they both are talented! It was nice to see how much love and support they gave each other. #AmericanIdol." 

"Been so mad at @AmericanIdol for pairing Grace & Lauren, 2 seasoned, mature top ten, maybe even top 5 material to compete for the last spot in top 20! Still wondering how they arrived at that decision! Didn't seem fair to whichever lost that vote I'm so mad!" a fan shared. Adding to that another said, "Lauren & Grace should have both gone into the Top 20. They both were better than people that made it #AmericanIdol." 

":( I wish they would've booted someone else off and kept both Lauren and Grace #AmericanIdol," a fan said. Another fan wrote, "Lauren & Grace should have both gone thru, some of the others let thru were questionable #AmericanIdol." 

Are you happy with America's decision? Let us know in the comments below. 

'American Idol' Season 18 airs every Sunday night only on ABC. Check your local listings for more information. 

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

With Season 8 set to premiere in 2027, the Netflix drama has already secured another chapter, with its first seven seasons already attracting more than 500 million views worldwide
2026-11-13T15:48:34.000Z
Ewan McGregor joins Claire Danes in the A24 thriller, which also stars Daveed Diggs and explores how a suspected hit-and-run threatens a marriage
2026-11-13T12:59:20.000Z
‘Happy’s Place’ Season 3 casts ‘Desperate Housewives’ star James Denton as Reba McEntire’s new love interest
2026-11-13T08:12:36.000Z
An unexpected rash turned out to be measles that might have been fatal for one character.
2026-11-13T07:46:24.000Z
Pavi and Nisha will follow separate paths before their journeys bring them back together in Book 2
2026-11-13T04:46:57.000Z
Mariska Hargitay’s reported ‘SVU’ paycheck includes acting and producing, while her estimated wealth reflects a career spanning more than four decades.
2026-11-12T20:43:49.000Z
'Marshals' Season 2 introduces a Texas cowgirl who joins Kayce Dutton at East Camp to help establish an equine therapy program.
2026-11-12T20:24:16.000Z
‘School Spirits’ Season 4 brings back Jennifer Tilly as Deborah Hunter-Price and Milo Manheim as Wally Clark while expanding its cast with four new additions
2026-11-12T20:05:26.000Z
Paul Wesley and Sara Canning reunite for Netflix’s college sports romance ‘Icebreaker,’ years after starring together in ‘The Vampire Diaries.’
2026-11-12T19:40:49.000Z
Peacock’s ‘The Good Daughter’ finale answers questions about the school shooting, Huck’s past and the buried secrets dividing Sam and Charlie’s family.
2026-11-12T16:29:59.000Z