Who is Shriya Jha? 'American Idol' judges karate chops 16-year old indie pop's dream to win Golden Ticket
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: The worldwide search for the next 'American Idol' resumed this week, with stops in Los Angeles, Nashville, and the judges' hometowns. However, one 16-year-old's hopes were actually "chopped off" by the Idol judges, Shriya Jha.
Shriya took the Idol stage on February 25 to audition in front of Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan. In the Sunday episode, much fun and antics were performed by the contestants, Shriya who has a Double Degree Black Belt in Karate, who thought of bringing her chopping blocks, and inviting the Judges to try a hand at it.
Even though, it was a fun day with the Judges, Shriya unfortunately had to leave the Idol stage without a Golden Ticket. As the 16-year-old failed to impress the Judges with her voice and piano skills, Katy expressed her regret at her not making it through.
'American Idol' Season 22 contestant Shriya Jha is inspired by Lorde and Billie Eilish
Shriya is a 16-year-old indie alt-dark pop singer-songwriter and music producer from Boston, Massachusetts. She posted her first Spotify song, 'Strangers on Saturn,' when she was 14 years old, and is influenced by Lorde and Billie Eilish.
Shriya also won the International Song Writing competition in the Teen's Group with her song, 'Strangers on Saturn.'
She's had a few of popular videos, including one where she sings Bruno Mars' 'It Will Rain,' which has 1.6 million views and 233K likes. Her audition looked to include some humorous elements, as Katy was shown smashing something over her head.
Shriya is an extremely gifted voice in an apparently unwelcoming environment that might freeze your precious soul if you aren't careful.
'American Idol' Season 22 contestant Colescott Rubin on unicycle wins social media but no Golden Ticket
Colescott Rubin did not receive the desired Golden Ticket, either. However, the Santa Rosa, California, native was able to win over some followers on social media.
Colescott's great-grandfather performed alongside Louis Armstrong over a century ago, and he channeled that spirit into his 'Idol audition.'
'American Idol' Season 22 Nashville audition yields two Golden Tickets
Sam 'Kayko' Kelly-Cohen was content just playing piano accompaniment for his buddy Abby Blake, who sang P!nk's "What About Us" for the judges, until he was called off the (piano) bench by Katy.
"Are you a lead singer or guitarist?" Katy questioned the 23-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. As she pushed Sam to do his own performance, she remarked, "We don’t like to leave any 'American Idol' stone unturned."
After playing "Time Of Your Life," an exuberant original song about releasing an ex, Sam received the shock of his life: three yeses from the judges (one more than Abby, since Katy "wasn't exactly sold" on the 25-year-old singer).
"If you want to, I guess you can go to Hollywood as well," Katy added as she gave Sam the audition's second Golden Ticket.
"Sam, you're the kind of contestant that we look for: the ones that think they can't make it and have the great voices, and then kaboom."
'American Idol' Season 22 premieres tonight at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC and the next day on Hulu.
