Breanna Nix went from stage fright to showstopper — now she's the last woman in 'American Idol’ top 3
Breanna Nix is the last woman vying for the coveted title of 'American Idol' Season 23! During the combined Disney Night and Mother's Day episode of the ABC singing competition that aired on May 11, two contestants, Gabby Samone and Mattie Pruitt, faced elimination after receiving the lowest votes from the fans. As a result, Nix becomes the only woman who is still in the running to win the beloved singing show. At the moment, five contestants, including Nix, Slater Nalley, John Foster, Jamal Roberts, and Thunderstorm Artis, are battling it out to lift the prestigious trophy in the highly anticipated finale set to take place on May 18.
In the episode, Nix, who hails from Denton, Texas, performed a beautiful rendition of 'Reflection' from Mulan as her Disney Night song. For her second performance, Nix sang 'Like My Mother Does' by Lauren Alaina as her Mother's Day tribute. During the rehearsals, the special guest mentor Lin-Manuel Miranda advised Nix to keep her eyes open while performing on the stage and allow the studio audience to be part of the performance.
Following Nix's performance, the esteemed judges Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan, and Carrie Underwood showered her with compliments. According to Gold Derby, Bryan enthused, "You are always in total control. You never look like you don't have total rein on your voice. That song was a perfect choice for you." Soon afterward, Richie told Nix, "You have poise and grace. What I'm loving the most is when you finally just stretch out. You make this song so emotional, so passionate, and the fact that you pull that off is amazing." At last, Underwood quipped, "I honestly was fighting back tears. You just look like you belong exactly where you are."
Throughout her journey on the show, Nix has never landed at the bottom of the voting results. In the last few weeks, Nix has belted out great songs including 'The Trouble With Love Is,' 'Still Rolling Stones,' 'Up to the Mountain,' 'The Show Must Go On,' 'Open Arms,' 'Tell Your Heart to Beat Again,' 'Water Under the Bridge,' and 'Independence Day.' If Nix ends up winning 'American Idol,' then she will be the fourth woman to lift the trophy. In the past, Maddie Poppe won Season 16, Just Sam emerged as the winner in Season 18, and Abi Carter won Season 22.
In an interview with People magazine, Nix shed light on her life-changing experience on 'American Idol.' Then, Nix shared, "When I tried out for American Idol, I didn't really think that it would go anywhere. It was kind of just a joke when I submitted a video, and here we are. I've grown so much as a person, and in my personal opinion, American Idol has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. It's taught me who I am. It's taught me what I'm capable of."
Along with this, Nix stated that she is grateful for the "incredible people" she's met along the way who've "supported" and "believed" in her. Nix further added, "I think I'm starting to believe in myself, which is really weird because for my whole life I didn't think I was worth anything. But I really like it. I'm capable of really hard things... Singing has always actually been an insecurity of mine to do in front of people. I didn't think that I was good enough to do it."
