One forgot the lyrics, another stormed off — awkward ‘American Idol’ duo left Luke Bryan shaking his head
Being a participant on 'American Idol' is a dream for many budding singers who are looking for exposure and mentorship. However, performing on the show is far from easy. With talented rivals, a sharp judging panel, and millions of viewers analyzing your every note, the pressure can be too much to handle sometimes. In one such instance, a contestant felt too embarrassed after failing to connect with another participant, and ended up storming off the set.
The contestant in question is Scarlet Ayliz, who was paired with Douglas Mills Jr. in the Hollywood week of 'American Idol' Season 20. Notably, Ayliz was a returning contestant from season 19, and had previously missed Hollywood Week to finish school, but was warmly welcomed back by the judges. However, her chemistry with Mills—who was a kind-hearted contestant who'd been bullied in school—was off from the start. Ayliz's aloof attitude, including telling Mills to back off due to her need for personal space, became too much to handle, according to Yahoo! Entertainment.
Despite calling themselves 'Mixed Match' to showcase their differences, their partnership lacked real connection, making it clear the judges may have mismatched them. Ayliz and Mills' duet rehearsal was full of tension. Ayliz pushed for them to sing 'Rewrite the Stars,' a song Mills surprisingly didn't know very well, and admitted struggling to learn the lyrics quickly. Already frustrated, Ayliz became overwhelmed by his mistakes, calling the situation "embarrassing," before storming off. She later explained that she had hit a breaking point under pressure. While her attitude came off as harsh, Mills also shared some blame for agreeing to sing a song he couldn't handle.
Later, Mills found Ayliz rehearsing alone and apologized for her outburst, explaining that she just needed a break and emphasizing that they were on the same team. However, Mills continued to struggle with lyrics, and when they finally performed, the tension between them was obvious. Ayliz glared at him throughout, and the duet lacked harmony. Afterward, she bluntly called the performance "death by song."
A baffled Luke Bryan summed up the audience's thoughts by saying, "I don't understand why they're singing a song they don't know!" Katy Perry echoed the sentiment, noting the song choice "did not work in their favor" and adding that neither Ayliz nor Mills delivered performances on par with their previous auditions, especially Mills, whose audition she had once called "life-changing." Still, despite Ayliz's attitude and her history of ghosting the show, both she and Mills had earned enough goodwill to make it through to the next round.
Talking about Ayliz's 'American Idol' journey—in the Top 24 round, she performed 'Levitating' by Dua Lipa as part of Group 1. However, she received one of the lowest vote counts along with Danielle Finn, and unfortunately, was eliminated from the competition, per American Idol Wiki. On the other hand, Mills was eliminated during the judges' deliberation after his final solo performance went unaired and was only shown briefly in a montage of eliminated contestants, according to American Idol wiki.