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Outkast's Big Boi and André 3000 Reunite at Atlanta Concert Venue Over 7 Years Since Last Joint Performance

André 3000 is currently on a North American tour in support of his instrumental woodwinds album, 'New Blue Sun'

Big Boi/Instagram

Big Boi is supporting his Outkast bandmate André 3000 's latest venture.

André, 48, is currently touring in support of his instrumental woodwinds album New Blue Sun , and Big Boi, 49, came out to his concert at Center Stage in Atlanta on Saturday — leading to a mini reunion for the "Ms. Jackson" duo backstage.

"Antwan & Andre 🛸 Flutie Hoooooo," wrote Big Boi, whose full name is Antwan Patton, in the caption of an Instagram post featuring two videos of the pair hanging out on the night of André's show.

While the pair stays in touch, Outkast hasn't officially performed since 2016, when the duo delivered a set at ONE Musicfest at Lakewood Amphitheatre in Atlanta. In a recent interview with HighSnobiety , however, André opened up about how Big Boi reacted to hearing "some" of his recent album, which marked a pivot from rapping to playing the flute.

"He was smiling," recalled André. "He was like, ‘ Man… ’ I played it for a lot of buddies, even my son. They were like, ‘It’s the real thing. It’s not a mimic. You really did this.’” 

In a December interview with CBS Mornings , André spoke about whether or not fans can expect a new Outkast album in the future. "No, but I think because he knows who I am and knows what gets me going, knows what inspires me, knows when I’m excited about something. So I think in that sense, he’s never pushed that issue," he said at the time.

"But I’m sure like, I want another Outkast album. Yeah, like in my mind – but see, that’s the thing. That’s the human side. I want an OutKast album a long time ago," added André. "And honestly for me as an individual, it would be gratifying to me to put out a solo rap situation. But not for nobody else at this point."

He continued, "It’s for me because I actually like the challenge of, ‘How could I make this part of my life interesting and rhyme in words?’ You know what I mean? Like how can I do that? So yeah, it’s still a challenge. So I think hopefully with will and intent, something will happen."

Shortly before releasing New Blue Son in November, André explained in one of the cover stories for  GQ ’s Man of the Year series  why spitting rhymes isn’t what felt natural to him at the moment.

Andrew Toth/Getty Images

The hip-hop icon told the outlet that it’s not for lack of trying that he hasn’t released solo raps since Outkast disbanded. It's because he’s been around the block — having debuted with Big Boi in Atlanta back in the ‘90s.

“It actually feels … sometimes it feels inauthentic for me to rap because I don’t have anything to talk about in that way. I’m 48 years old,” he revealed. “And not to say that age is a thing that dictates what you rap about, but in a way it does.”

André (whose full name is André Benjamin) even playfully teased what his bars nowadays might sound like. “And things that happen in my life, like, what are you talking about? ‘I got to go get a colonoscopy,’” he joked. “What are you rapping about? ‘My eyesight is going bad.’ You can find cool ways to say it, but….”

Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic

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Having last released a full-length album with Outkast in 2006, he also clarified just how much he's tried to release rap music.

“I’ve worked with some of the newest, freshest, youngest, and old-school producers. I get beats all the time. I try to write all the time,” the “Hey Ya!” artist shared. “Even now people think, Oh, man, he’s just sitting on raps, or he’s just holding these raps hostage. I ain’t got no raps like that.”

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Dre took the stage in near darkness, dressed in his trademark striped overalls, sneakers and woven beanie with a little ball on top. As the band oozed out the spacey chords of “I Swear, I Really Wanted to Make A ‘Rap’ Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time,” fans in the packed venue clapped and cheered. Was Andre really the wind instrument devotee “New Blue Sun” presents? Perhaps he’d rap, just for his “Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik” devotees? Instead 3000 played his flutes, pulling from a gaggle in various lengths on the stage beside him, and pressed pedals to manipulate the sound. The audience let the music wash over them as lights glowed behind the four person-backing band — comprised of Carlos Nino, Nate Mercereau, Deantoni Parks and Surya Botofasina, who were joined later by two special guests.

“How many of y’all can say you turned into a panther one time? I can,” Andre said, with a laugh as the crowd joined his nervous giggles. 

Down the aisle, a fan closed her eyes, perhaps to drift off into another world or nap quickly, while another, Emmy-nominated actor J. Alphonse Nicholson from “P Valley,” bobbed his head like he was blasting a brassy Trap track. Still another yelled out “Yeah!” at various ebbs.

Andre broke up the show with stories of meeting Nino in the fancy Los Angeles grocery store, Erewhon, describing his early melodies as “babies” and admitting that he never thought he’d be playing “fucking flutes.” 

The performance didn’t really have a set list, the band wanted each performance to stand alone as they riffed on the “ New Blue Sun” tracks. The aural journey flowed into one song that mirrored the madness of the 1971 “ Willy Wonka” sleigh ride and then slowed down with melting orange lights. Sitar sounds and chimes mixed with ethereal keys and swirling yellow and green lights opened the next composition, before another song bubbled up with crickets and birds snickering. Andre spoke to the audience in a language he said he’d created — he said he and his late mother used to chat in it — and it is more about intent than words. 

The final track was upbeat, like Dre was practicing his scales amid more animal noises and rising and falling synths. The theater was bathed in calming blue and green lights that gave way to orange, perhaps to wake the audience — because the performance was over.

For a guy who took a massive swing at Mesoamerican music and could’ve missed the mark, Andre received thunderous applause and a partial standing ovation. And for the fans that came to see their favorite rapper play a flute, 3000 thanked them and clarified that one isn’t ever too old to rap, he just hasn’t found an interesting way to say what he wants to say yet . 

Maybe breaking the mold means trying something new and then doubling back to familiar ground? Time will tell. The “New Blue Sun” tour continues with residencies in five other cities before concluding in Los Angeles on March 5-9.

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People are asking what happened to Outkast after 'disappearing'

What ever happened to outkast.

It's been almost a decade since we last saw Outkast perform together, but we're still playing their tunes at every party - so where did they go?

The iconic hip-hop duo, comprising of Andre 3000 and Big Boi, dropped hit after hit during their heyday, all while redefining an entire genre, winning countless coveted awards, and putting the city of Atlanta on the map.

After releasing six stellar albums and a collection of unforgettable singles like 'Ms Jackson', 'So Fresh, So Clean', and 'Hey-Ya', Outkast soon pretty much disappeared, and people still aren't over it.

Even today, years since anyone's heard from the duo, and with Andre 3000 and Big Boi building their own successful solo careers, fans are asking what ever happened to Outkast?

"What happened to Outkast? I mean, where are they?", asked one fan just weeks ago on Twitter.

"What happened to Outkast?" echoed another just a few months earlier. "Yeahhhh imma need an ole fashioned VH1 Where Are They Now or a Behind the Music special."

And a third wondered not too long ago: "Am I really dumb but what happened to Outkast ? They were one of the biggest groups in the Noughties then they just disappeared."

If you were wondering the same question yourself, then let me fill you in.

After some pretty decent commercial success from their first few records, Outkast released their penultimate album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below in 2003.

It was essentially a double album - Speakerboxx being only Big Boi songs, while The Love Below featured mostly tracks from Andre 3000.

It was the duo's biggest commercial success and even went diamond, selling more than ten million copies.

Tracks from the album included 'Roses', Dracula's Wedding', and, of course, 'Hey Ya!'

Despite the unbelievable success of this record, the double album concept would be the beginning of the end for Outkast.

In 2006, they released their sixth and final album Idlewild , which served as a soundtrack album for their musical film of the same name.

After that album dropped, fans wouldn't get to see the duo work together too often. They'd seemingly gotten a taste for working solo, and wanted to see what else they could do.

While Big Boi went on to release two solo albums, Andre 3000 guest featured in songs by artists like John Legend, Chris Brown, Frank Ocean, Beyoncé, Drake, and Jay-Z - to name just a few.

With both Andre 3000 and Big Boi enjoying such successful solo careers, fans were sure they'd never see an Outkast reunion.

And it did seem that way until 2014, when they got back together to headline Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, alongside Arcade Fire and Muse.

And as if that weren't exciting enough, it was later confirmed that Outkast would embark on a tour that spring and summer, performing at over 40 festivals worldwide, including Wireless Festival in London and Bestival in Isle of Wight.

The tour eventually wrapped at Voodoo Music Experience in New Orleans in October 2014, marking the last time fans have ever seen Outkast play together.

The duo resumed their hiatus and returned to their individual solo careers.

And, unfortunately, it looks like we probably won't see another Outkast reunion any time soon.

In an interview with Fader later that year, Andre admitted that the tour made him feel like a 'sell-out'.

He said: "Honestly, just, you know - I didn't wanna do the tour. We hadn't performed in 10 years. It was old songs."

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]

Topics:  Music , Celebrity

Ali is a journalist for LADbible Group, writing on all things film, music, and entertainment across Tyla, LADbible and UNILAD. You can contact Ali at [email protected] .

@ alicondon

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• Antwan André Films

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Atlanta indisputably set the pace for modern hip-hop. However, Big Boi set the pace for Atlanta, and by proxy, the culture at large.

If the genre of hip-hop ever gets its own " Rap Mount Rushmore ," a legacy as the region's foremost wordsmith, funkiest gentleman, and resident ATLien certainly guarantees a place for the rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor, and philanthropist born Antwan André Patton. You can often find him in your favorite rapper's " Top Five " and with good reason. Over two decades since he first crash landed, it's nearly impossible to escape his influence.

Atlanta indisputably set the pace for modern hip-hop. However, Big Boi set the pace for Atlanta, and by proxy, the culture at large. If the genre of hip-hop ever gets its own " Rap Mount Rushmore ," a legacy as the region's foremost wordsmith, funkiest gentleman, and resident ATLien certainly guarantees a place for the rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor, and philanthropist born Antwan André Patton. You can often find him in your favorite rapper's "Top Five" and with good reason. Over two decades since he first crash landed, it's nearly impossible to escape his influence. Of course, he made history as the preeminent spitter of the Dungeon Family and one-half of OutKast. The legendary duo sold 25 million albums and garnered seven GRAMMY® Awards, becoming the first and only hip-hop artist in history to win the GRAMMY® for “Album of the Year” upon release of the 2003 RIAA Diamond-certified Speakerboxxx/The Love Below .

His half, Speakerboxxx , set the stage for what has become an equally impressive solo run. He made his proper introduction as a solo artist in 2010 with Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty . A modern classic, it captured #3 on the Billboard Top 200, graced year-end lists from Time , Paste , and Vibe , and landed on Pitchfork ’s " 100 Best Albums of the Decade 'So Far' ." 2012’s Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors maintained his momentum fueled further by the 2015 Phantogram collaboration, Big Grams . However, he reached a new level on Boomiverse in 2017. Beyond verbally acrobatic bangers such as “In The South” [feat. Gucci Mane & Pimp C], “Mic Jack” [feat. Adam Levine, Scar, & Sleepy Brown], and “Kill Jill” [feat. Killer Mike & Jeezy], the MC landed “ the biggest hit of his solo career ”—according to Rolling Stone —in the form of “All Night.” The smash single soundtracked a high-profile Apple Animoji commercial, blew up radio, and clocked 40 million streams within a year. Additionally, he performed it on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon , Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! , and more. This set the stage for a pair of 2018 anthems and knockout collaborations, namely “Out at Night” [feat. Clean Bandit] and “Big Bills” [feat. The Knocks], in addition to more music.

Beyond his countless contributions on wax, he personally signed, supported, and shepherded superstars a la Janelle Monáe and Killer Mike. He also co-owns and operates Stankonia Studios in Atlanta.

On the big and small screens, he reprised regular roles on BET’s The Quad and MTV’s Scream as well as appearing in Academy® Award winner Lee Daniels’ FOX series Star and joining the cast of 2018’s Superfly .

An active member of his community and devoted humanitarian, he launched the Big Kidz Foundation, a nonprofit which enriches the lives of youth in Atlanta. Not to mention, he’s an avowed animal lover, providing a home to owls and his latest puppy.

In the end, Boomiverse represents what Big Boi aptly describes as “ another dimension of music ” and continues a tradition of “ doing things that have never been done before .”

Big Boi kicked off 2019 by taking the stage alongside Maroon 5 and Travis Scott at the Pepsi Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show on February 3, 2019. Followed by the release of two new tracks “Doin’ It” [feat. Sleepy Brown] and “Return of the Dope Boi [feat. Killer Mike and Backbone].

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Recently, the seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning, RIAA diamond-certified musician released his celebrated third full-length solo album, BOOMIVERSE .

The project features lead singles “Mic Jack” featuring Adam Levine and “Kill Jill” featuring Killer Mike & Jeezy. This past week Big Boi unveiled the slick and sexy video for his latest single, “Chocolate” featuring Trozé, to wide fanfare from media outlets and fans worldwide. The video premiered to a full house during the intermission of Dave Chappelle’s recent Radio City Music Hall performance while the song was featured in this past week's episode of the HBO series, Ballers .

Big Boi's 2010 solo debut, Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty , bowed at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 and received unanimous critical acclaim with Pitchfork proclaiming it one of the "100 Best Albums of the Decade 'So Far'" and topping year-end lists from Time, Paste, Vibe, and more. His 2012 follow-up Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors enamored tastemakers and fans alike and boasted collaborations with A$AP Rocky, Killer Mike, Kid Cudi, and more. In 2015, Big Boi collaborated with Phantogram to create supergroup Big Grams. Their debut self-titled album was released to critical and fan acclaim.

One of history's tightest and most clever rhyme mavericks, Big Boi's indelible influence courses throughout two generations of rap music As one-half of OutKast, Big Boi has achieved seven GRAMMY® Awards, sold over 25 million albums, and created a string of music's most influential work, including Aquemini, Stankonia, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below—which went RIAA Diamond and made the duo the first and only hip-hop artist in history to win the GRAMMY® for “Album of the Year.”

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The Dirty South wasn't always known for rap. When Outkast first emerged in 1994, the southern hip hop scene was largely discounted in the music world. The duo's Atlanta upbringing felt like a liability.

Big Boi's Guide to Atlanta

"We come from a time when it wasn’t cool to be from Atlanta," the rapper known as Big Boi tells me. They weren't cowed. The title of Outkast's debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, explicitly nodded to geography. The animosity boiled over at the 1995 Source Awards, when Outkast won for best new rap group and drew overt boos from denizens of the East Coast rap scene. In a tense acceptance speech, André 3000 declared, "The South got something to say."

The proclamation proved true when the group's intergalactic ATLiens record arrived a year later, packed with little morsels of Southern pride ("If you like fish and grits and all that pimp shit..." goes the title track refrain). "We had to make them respect us," says Big Boi. "When we won best new artist and we got booed, that fueled the fire. That just made us go harder, know what I mean? Since then, it's got to be elite street jedi rap shit. It’s got to be the cream of the crop."

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Georgia tech students meet big boi.

It’s not your typical class on a campus known for engineers and scientists.

“The name of the course is Engaging the Lyrics of Outkast and Trap Music to Explore Politics of Social Justice,” explains Dr. Joycelyn Wilson. “We turn Outkast’s lyrics into a text and we use the narratives to have a larger conversation about social justice.”

Wilson studied the music and lyrics of Outkast as part of her dissertation.

“I felt like Outkast represents innovation,” she explains.

Originally, the students were not aware the class was about Outkast. It was just billed as a “race, science, and technology” course.

Wilson says she introduces students to the lyrics first, and then the class listens to the music.

“Often we’re attracted to the sound first. Then we analyze the words.”

While much of the focus was on Outkast, Wilson and her students reviewed songs across the hip-hop spectrum from Lauryn Hill to Lil Yacthy.

Through a course like this about music, students are introduced to urban issues and that begins a conversation.

“Having a course where you have discussions about social and political issues, it’s nice to have that change,” says mechanical engineering student Ahmed Aly.

To wrap up the course, Wilson arranged for Antwan Patton, better known as Big Boi from Outkast, to visit the class and take questions from the students.

Watch Big Boi Unleash Funky New Song 'Mic Jack' on 'Tonight Show'

Big Boi gave a funky, propulsive performance of new single "Mic Jack" on Monday's Tonight Show. The Outkast rapper spit rhymes into a gold microphone, backed by DJ scratching, a trio of vocalists (including longtime collaborator Sleepy Brown) and the Roots' Questlove on drums.

"Boomiverse coming soon," Big Boi declared after the performance, hyping his upcoming solo LP – his first since 2012's Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. The rapper announced Boomiverse last week and released a pair of new tracks: "Mic Jack," which features Maroon 5's Adam Levine and "Kill Jill," assisted by fellow Atlanta stars Killer Mike and Jeezy.

Full Story & Video at RollingStone.com

Big Boi Readies All-Star New Album 'Boomiverse'

Big Boi has revealed plans to release a new album titled Boomiverse, the Outkast rapper's first solo LP since 2012's Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors.

On Thursday, 4/20, Big Boi will drop a pair of Boomiverse tracks: "Mic Jack," featuring Maroon 5's Adam Levine, premieres on Zane Lowe's Beats 1 show, while "Kill Jill," co-starring Big Boi's Atlanta brethren Killer Mike and Jeezy, arrives Thursday night.

Full Story at RollingStone.com

Interview: How Big Boi Chooses His Singles

There are listening sessions, of course, but it's his children that really tell the rapper when he has a hit on his hands.

How Big Boi Chooses His Singles

Big Boi is back in a big way—the Atlanta legend's next album, BOOMIVERSE, is due out in June. Two singles have dropped thus far, "Mic Jack" with Adam Levine and "Kill Jill," featuring longtime Dungeon Family affiliates Killer Mike and Jeezy.

Both songs confirmed what we already knew: Big Boi knows how to choose his singles. And while we enjoyed his more experimental turns, like 2015's Phantogram collaboration Big Grams, it sounds like BOOMIVERSE is a return to hip-hop and R&B.

The biggest change may be the artist's reunion with L.A. Reid, the Epic Records exec behind Outkast's early success and Big Boi's masterful first solo album, Sir Luscious Left Foot...The Son of Chico Dusty. After a seven year hiatus (Reid switched jobs), the two are back under the same label umbrella, and it sounds like they're making magic.

When Big Boi stopped by the studio, he laid out a list of surprising collaborators: DJ Dahi, Scott Storch, and lesser-known names like Eric Bellinger and Sean Douglas all contributed to the album, which the rapper recorded between Atlanta and L.A.

One thing that didn't change this time around was how Big Boi chose his singles. There are listening sessions, of course, but it's his children that really tell the rapper when he has a hit on his hands.

Watch Interview at PigeonsandPlanes.com

Video: Mic Jack on The Voice

Album: big grams, album: big grams big boi + phantogram.

• Run for Your Life
• Fell in the Sun
• Put It On Her
• Goldmine Junkie
• Born to Shine
• Drum Machine

Album: Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors

• The Thickets ft. Sleep Brown
• Apple of My Eye
• Objectum Sexuality ft. Phantogram
• In the A ft. T.I. and Ludacris
• She Hates Me ft. Kid Cudi
• CPU ft. Phantogram
• Thom Pettie ft. Little Dragon and Killer Mike
• Mama Told Me ft. Kelly Rowland
• Lines ft. ASAP Rocky and Phantogram
• Shoes for Running ft. B.o.B. and Wavves
• Raspberries ft. Mouche and Scar
• Tremendous Damage ft. Bosko
• Descending ft. Little Dragon

Album: Sir Lucious Leftfoot: The Son of Chico Dusty

• Feel Me (Intro)
• Daddy Fat Sax
• Turns Me On
• Shutterbugg
• General Patton
• You Ain't No DJ
• Hustle Blood
• Fo Yo Sorrows
• Night Night
• Shine Blockas
• The Train, Pt. 2 (Sir Lucious Left Foot Saves the Day)
• Back Up Plan

Watch Big Boi and Killer Mike Perform at Pop-Up Concert

Big Boi brought out Killer Mike at a pop-up concert hosted by Atlanta radio station V-103 on Saturday. The two performed a song from Big Boi's upcoming album which also featured Young Jeezy. The album was set to be finished in January and will also feature Gucci Mane, Big Boi said in an interview with Creative Loafing Tampa in December.

Full Story at The FADER

Video: Tonight Show: Mic Jack

Video: drum machine ft. skrillex, album: speakerboxxx/the love below, album: stankonia, album: aquemini, album: atliens, album: southernplaya­listicadillacmuzik, official website for big boi merchandise.

Your source for apparel, hats as well as concert swag. Get fresh.

Big Boi's Exclusive Line of Socks

Left Foot socks are comfortable, durable and made of the highest quality. Currently restocking!

Video: Idlewild

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Big Boi of Outkast joins Birmingham Pastor Mike Jr. on new album

• Published: Apr. 19, 2024, 8:58 a.m.

Pastor Mike Jr. collaborated with Big Boi of Outkast on a new single, "He Got Me," on Pastor Mike Jr.'s new album, "I Got Away," released April 19, 2024. Rock City

• Greg Garrison | [email protected]

Pastor Mike McClure Jr. of Birmingham released a new album today, “I Got Away,” featuring a collaboration with Atlanta rapper Big Boi of Outkast.

The two take turns rapping inspirational lyrics professing their faith in God. McClure, who performs under the stage name Pastor Mike Jr., is pastor of Rock City Church in Birmingham.

“Snap your fingers and dance, I know in the end you win,” Pastor Mike Jr. sings. “Let me tell you how my God came through, if he did it for me, he’ll do it for you.”

Big Boi raps the opening lines of the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in heaven,” and adds, “That’s how I address Him.”

In a video announcement, McClure said he will be doing an “I Got Away” tour across the country, sponsored by McDonald’s, so tickets will be free. Ticket reservations are required .

The tour starts with a concert in Nashville on April 26, then goes to Memphis on April 27 and comes to Birmingham on April 28.

Joining Pastor Mike Jr. on the tour will be Bri Babineaux, Anthony Brown and Deitrick Haddon. The 30-city McDonald’s Inspiration Gospel Tour, including stops in Houston, Dallas, Oklahoma City and St. Louis, will conclude on June 29 in Atlanta.

McClure has won 19 Stellar Award s for gospel music.

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Rico Wade, key Outkast producer and member of Organized Noize, dies at 52

Rico Wade , a member of the pioneering Atlanta-based production trio Organized Noize and a  key early Outkast collaborator , has died, according to an Instagram post by his close friend Killer Mike and the  Atlanta Journal-Constitution . No cause of death was cited; he was 52.

“I don’t have the words to express my deep and profound sense of loss,” Killer Mike wrote. “I am praying for your wife and children. I am praying for the Wade family. I am praying for us all. I deeply appreciate your acceptance into the Dungeon Family, mentorship, friendship and brotherhood. Idk where I would be without y’all.”

The Organized Noize songwriting-production team — which also featured Ray Murray and Sleepy Brown — was formed in the early ‘90s and played a pivotal role in early releases by Outkast, TLC, Goodie Mob and many others, and were frequently shouted out or featured on those recordings. Along with Jermaine Dupri, their sound, which was as indebted to classic R&B as hip-hop, defined the city’s burgeoning scene of the era, which would lay the framework for Atlanta’s dominance as a hip-hop capital in the coming decades.

The extended collective around the scene was known as the “Dungeon Family,” which also included Killer Mike and Big Rube.

Wade’s studio in the city’s East Point neighborhood, “the Dungeon,” was not only the birthplace of many of the era’s hits, it featured in many of them as well — “We havin’ a smokeout in the Dungeon with the mary jane,” Outkast rapped on “Ain’t No Thang,” from their galvanizing 1994 debut.

Information on survivors was not immediately available, although Wade is related to rapper Future.  

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Touring the Top 10 Moscow Metro Stations

By Claudia Looi 2 Comments

Komsomolskaya metro station looks like a museum. It has vaulted ceilings and baroque decor.

Hidden underground, in the heart of Moscow, are historical and architectural treasures of Russia. These are Soviet-era creations – the metro stations of Moscow.

Our guide Maria introduced these elaborate metro stations as “the palaces for the people.” Built between 1937 and 1955, each station holds its own history and stories. Stalin had the idea of building beautiful underground spaces that the masses could enjoy. They would look like museums, art centers, concert halls, palaces and churches. Each would have a different theme. None would be alike.

The two-hour private tour was with a former Intourist tour guide named Maria. Maria lived in Moscow all her life and through the communist era of 60s to 90s. She has been a tour guide for more than 30 years. Being in her 60s, she moved rather quickly for her age. We traveled and crammed with Maria and other Muscovites on the metro to visit 10 different metro stations.

Arrow showing the direction of metro line 1 and 2

Moscow subways are very clean

To Maria, every street, metro and building told a story. I couldn’t keep up with her stories. I don’t remember most of what she said because I was just thrilled being in Moscow.   Added to that, she spilled out so many Russian words and names, which to one who can’t read Cyrillic, sounded so foreign and could be easily forgotten.

The metro tour was the first part of our all day tour of Moscow with Maria. Here are the stations we visited:

1. Komsomolskaya Metro Station  is the most beautiful of them all. Painted yellow and decorated with chandeliers, gold leaves and semi precious stones, the station looks like a stately museum. And possibly decorated like a palace. I saw Komsomolskaya first, before the rest of the stations upon arrival in Moscow by train from St. Petersburg.

2. Revolution Square Metro Station (Ploshchad Revolyutsii) has marble arches and 72 bronze sculptures designed by Alexey Dushkin. The marble arches are flanked by the bronze sculptures. If you look closely you will see passersby touching the bronze dog's nose. Legend has it that good luck comes to those who touch the dog's nose.

Touch the dog's nose for good luck. At the Revolution Square station

Revolution Square Metro Station

3. Arbatskaya Metro Station served as a shelter during the Soviet-era. It is one of the largest and the deepest metro stations in Moscow.

Arbatskaya Metro Station

4. Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station was built in 1935 and named after the Russian State Library. It is located near the library and has a big mosaic portrait of Lenin and yellow ceramic tiles on the track walls.

Lenin's portrait at the Biblioteka Imeni Lenina Metro Station

5. Kievskaya Metro Station was one of the first to be completed in Moscow. Named after the capital city of Ukraine by Kiev-born, Nikita Khruschev, Stalin's successor.

Kievskaya Metro Station

6. Novoslobodskaya Metro Station  was built in 1952. It has 32 stained glass murals with brass borders.

Novoslobodskaya metro station

7. Kurskaya Metro Station was one of the first few to be built in Moscow in 1938. It has ceiling panels and artwork showing Soviet leadership, Soviet lifestyle and political power. It has a dome with patriotic slogans decorated with red stars representing the Soviet's World War II Hall of Fame. Kurskaya Metro Station is a must-visit station in Moscow.

Ceiling panel and artworks at Kurskaya Metro Station

8. Mayakovskaya Metro Station built in 1938. It was named after Russian poet Vladmir Mayakovsky. This is one of the most beautiful metro stations in the world with 34 mosaics painted by Alexander Deyneka.

Mayakovskaya station

One of the over 30 ceiling mosaics in Mayakovskaya metro station

9. Belorusskaya Metro Station is named after the people of Belarus. In the picture below, there are statues of 3 members of the Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II. The statues were sculpted by Sergei Orlov, S. Rabinovich and I. Slonim.

10. Teatralnaya Metro Station (Theatre Metro Station) is located near the Bolshoi Theatre.

Teatralnaya Metro Station decorated with porcelain figures .

Taking the metro's escalator at the end of the tour with Maria the tour guide.

Have you visited the Moscow Metro? Leave your comment below.

January 15, 2017 at 8:17 am

An excellent read! Thanks for much for sharing the Russian metro system with us. We're heading to Moscow in April and exploring the metro stations were on our list and after reading your post, I'm even more excited to go visit them. Thanks again 🙂

December 6, 2017 at 10:45 pm

Hi, do you remember which tour company you contacted for this tour?

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Meet 2024's ‘American Idol' Top 10 Contestants

Posted: April 23, 2024 | Last updated: April 23, 2024

Meet 2024’s ‘American Idol’ Top 10 Contestants

For 22 seasons and running, American Idol has unveiled which contestants have qualified for the competition’s most elite tier, the top 10. This season is no exception, with the names of the final 10 being announced on Monday (April 20) evening’s live broadcast on ABC.

For over a decade now, Billboard has been first in line to sit down with each finalist and conduct their first in-depth interviews. Earlier this week, Billboard sat down with the top 14 performers to talk about their formative years, their Idol experiences to date and how they envision their futures.

On Sunday (April 19), the top 14 performed songs by members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (the Rock Hall’s Class of 2024 was also revealed during the episode by Ryan Seacrest and Rock Hall member Lionel Richie). At the end of the two-hour episode, Jordan Anthony and Nya were eliminated from the competition.

On Monday night, the theme was Billboard No. 1 Hits, a subject first presented in season two and again in season four. The episode saw the end of two more journeys, with contestants Roman Collins and Jayna Elise leaving the show.

Below, Billboard goes deep with season 22’s top 10 contestants as well as the four contestants eliminated over the last few days.

To quote Ryan Seacrest, here they are, in no particular order. (Well, that isn’t strictly true, as we present them alphabetically – first the newly-minted top 10 and then the four singers who were eliminated over the last two days).

View the full Article

Jack Blocker

Born : June 8, 1998 – Dallas, Texas

Musical Influences:  John Prine, Willie Nelson, Townes Van Zandt, OutKast, Tyler the Creator, White Stripes, Green Day

First  Idol  Experience:  “I was four when the show started. My parents watched the first season and said we were all going to watch the next year, so I remember Ruben (Studdard) and Clay (Aiken).”

Jack Blocker did not grow up in a musical family. His earliest memories of music are from the traditional church he attended as a child. “Once a month, someone would come in with an acoustic guitar and they would do stripped-down worship music and I thought it was cool. In high school I was listening to older country artists and that’s when I fell in love with music. At 16 I picked up the guitar and tried to learn their songs. I attended a Christian high school and played in a student-led worship band. That’s when I figured out I could sing and started writing songs in my bedroom for fun.”

Blocker is self-taught on guitar thanks to YouTube. He still hasn’t taken any lessons and never had vocal coaching until he auditioned for American Idol . The first song he wrote was “Finally Home,” which he recorded with the band he had in college, Rightfield. They played gigs while attending the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where Blocker majored in communications. “When bands would come through, we’d message them to see if we could open for them. Then we did some traveling and were able to make half a living playing gigs.”

At this point, Blocker had not decided on making music as a full-time job. “I was considering every career besides being a musician. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I had no real perception of what having a career in music would look like. Growing up in Dallas, I didn’t really know anyone who did that.”

In 2022, Blocker became a solo artist. “My wife and I and my bandmate Reed Hoelscher moved to Nashville. We weren’t experiencing that much growth in Dallas and so we tried to push ourselves. It was difficult. In Dallas and Arkansas, we were the only people performing alt-rock music. In Nashville, everyone is doing the same thing and probably a little better than you and they know more people than you. Trying to make an impression was a bit of a culture shock. We were competing with all the other artists around us and we were losing. I realized I needed to write. My wife was really supportive. She felt this was something I was supposed to be doing, so I started making music that I really cared about and doing it on my own.”

Blocker has already learned a valuable lesson from his Idol journey. “I have been encouraged throughout the whole process to be myself as an artist, to find your wheelhouse and go 100% toward that. I haven’t been trying to compete with anybody else on the show, like go head-to-head and out sing this one person. I’ve been getting to sing songs that I love and I’ve just been really encouraged throughout the show that people respond to that authenticity. Luke said, ‘If you’re doing Jack Blocker, you’re doing the right thing.’ That meant the world to me.”

McKenna Faith Breinholt

Born : Aug. 19, 1998 – Mesa, Ariz.

Favorite Alums:   David Archuleta, David Cook, Lauren Spencer-Smith

Musical Influences:   Adele, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift

First  Idol  Experience:  “I watched the season that David Cook and David Archuleta were on. That was the most memorable Idol for me.”

Born in Mesa, Ariz., and raised in nearby Gilbert, McKenna Faith Breinholt’s earliest musical memory is from when she was seven years old, playing songs by ear on her piano. “I would hear music on television and would go to my little keyboard and pick them out. I thought it was awesome that I could play. My parents thought it was really cool and they bought a bigger keyboard. The first song I played on that was ‘Apologize’ by Timbaland and OneRepublic.”

Breinholt confesses, “I took piano lessons to learn theory. I was cheating the whole time. I wasn’t listening to it, and then I got caught. Yeah, I’m not great with piano lessons! I couldn’t sing very well at the time. I wasn’t really a great singer until I picked up the guitar. My guitar teacher required all students to sing, and that’s how I found my voice.”

By the time she was 14, she was performing in talent shows and in church on Sundays, just with piano or guitar. “I never was accompanied by anyone. I’d always play by myself. Then I sang in my high school talent show and that was probably one of the best performances ever for me. People saw that video and asked me to start working with them after that. Rob Gardner, who Breinholt describes as “a crazily talented musician from Arizona,” had her cover Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” and Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).” “He had me take great iconic songs and turn them into orchestra pieces with choir and we went around performing in Arizona every year. One of my videos with him (“Hallelujah”) got over 12 million views on YouTube.

Although Breinholt said during her Idol audition that her family has no musical talent, she corrected herself while talking to Billboard . “They were offended when I said that. They all have great ears. My dad can play a little bit at the piano. My grandpa plays the guitar. Everyone can mess around here and there.”

Asked what the most valuable lesson she has learned on her Idol journey so far, Breinholt says, “To have a good time and cherish every single moment and make friends too. Yes, you have to be in a certain mindset when you’re on stage and when you’re rehearsing, but we’re never going to get this opportunity again. It’s all about the people and the things that we’re doing and being in the moment because it’s going to go away real quick.”

The Arizonan already has a vision for her future. “My ultimate goal is to release a song after the show and it takes off and I’m touring and performing in front of hundreds of thousands. I know it’s going to take a lot of work to get there, but that’s the goal.”

Born : July 31, 2002 – Indio, Calif.

Favorite Alums:  Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, David Archuleta, Adam Lambert, Jordin Sparks

Musical Influences:  Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, My Chemical Romance, Paramore

First  Idol  Experience:  “We always watched the fails. That used to be the greatest part of this show, seeing people absolutely lose their minds in an audition room. I was at my aunt’s house in Idyllwild [Calif.] and I remember looking at Carrie Underwood and telling my mom, ‘I want to do it now.’ And she said, ‘You’re not old enough.’ ‘Well, how freaking old do I have to be?’ I was eight.”

“My mom always sang lullabies to us,” Abi Carter says when asked about her earliest musical memory. “But the first true song I remember is the intro credits song to (Nickelodeon’s 2006 film) Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses . There are no words. It’s so beautiful to me and I wanted to be a ballerina and a singer.”

Carter isn’t the only singer in her family. “My mom got a full scholarship to university. She went on a voice scholarship, but she had kids and that made it impossible for her to continue. All my siblings sing. I was the only one who really loved it and wanted to pursue it and felt a deep connection with music. But we’re always singing around the house.”

As a young girl, Carter says she idolized Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. “I grew up in a really religious family, so we weren’t allowed to listen to all kinds of music, but my mom bought a Carrie Underwood album and it got stuck in our little CD player in our old broken down van and so that was all we could listen to for a really long time. So I love Carrie Underwood. I’m not a country singer, but sometimes I’ll sing something that’s just a little bit country.”

Carter wrote her first song relatively recently. “It’s called ‘Still Breathing.’ I wrote it about a friend of mine who I was very close to growing up. “We would sit in her computer room and talk about the future and about what life was going to be like and how she was going to decorate her apartment when she moved out. When she went away to college, I was so excited for her because she was so excited to start her life and she ended up getting into drugs and it just absolutely changed who she was chemically. I wrote that song about her not being able to respond anymore. I don’t even know if she is still alive. I didn’t know if she was still breathing. I wrote that in late 2020/early 2021.”

Reflecting on lessons learned so far from being on American Idol , Carter explains, “I grew up being home schooled. When I entered high school, I went for less than a semester and had to leave to help my family. And I just assumed that coming to Los Angeles to audition that everybody here was going to be fake. I had a mindset of what Hollywood was like and what the music business was like and thought I was going to be around gorgeous people who are gorgeous because of the plastic surgery and would treat me like I was less than. But what I’ve learned is that friends are so much closer than you think and all you have to do is get out to make them. I didn’t grow up with a lot of friends. I only had one at a time. Any prejudice I had has been sucked out of me because I’m surrounded by many people who are so different and yet we’re all the same. There’s something that you can relate to in everybody. I’ve learned that the world is so much bigger but so much more connected than we think.”

As for her future, Carter says, “I want to be an artist. I’ve never felt so passionately about something. I went to school and got a psychology degree because I figured if I can’t express my emotions through something artistically, maybe I can just help other people express their emotions. I was going to be a family therapist.” But then she was asked to audition for American Idol , and she thought, “I’ve never done something for myself. I had to start working young and leave high school to help my family. When this opportunity came along, I thought, ‘If I get a master’s in psychology and have a stable job, I’ll never have this opportunity to pursue what I love because I’ll have so much more on my plate then.’ I want to perform. I want people to be able to relate to my songs the way that we relate to Taylor Swift songs. I used to be scared about stage presence, like I don’t know what to do with my arms. I’m not a dancer. When you think about a home-schooled kid, I’m about as awkward as they come. But I’ve never felt so energetic before. It’s so much fun.”

Julia Gagnon

Born : March 29, 2002 – Guatemala City, Guatemala

Favorite Alums:  Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia, Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert, Wé Ani

Musical Influences:  Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo

First  Idol  Experience:  Always aware of it, her parents didn’t watch TV, so she didn’t see a complete season until last year, when she and her now-fiancé watched all of the episodes of season 21 on Hulu to prepare for a local Idol -type competition.

Julia Gagnon was born in Guatemala and after being adopted, was raised in Cumberland, Maine. There was a grand piano in the house and Gagnon remembers banging on the keys as a two-year-old until her parents bought her a toy piano. While she doesn’t recall, her mother assures her that as a very young child, she would sing around the house and in pre-school. That stopped until middle school, when Gagnon saw two musicals on Broadway – Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera . “ Phantom was my favorite and I thought, ‘I really want to do that. It would be amazing.’ I entered a talent show and sang ‘Popular’ from Wicked . My chorus teacher Nora Krainis heard me sing and said, ‘I’m not going to let you avoid this anymore. You need to share this with the world and I’m going to help you.’ She was a very strict woman and I replied, ‘Alright. I’ll do what you say.’ She gave me some solos in our chorus concerts and then I was in some of our high school musicals, like Beauty and the Beast , Sister Act and The Addams Family .” I only sang in school. Competitions made me nervous and I didn’t like the idea of auditioning.”

Like the rest of the top 10, Gagnon’s Idol journey began months before season 22 started airing on ABC. From then until today, what is the most important thing she has learned? “It may sound cheesy, but to be yourself. It’s easier said than done. For a long time during this competition, I was trying to be a heightened version of myself, singing hard-hitting soul songs every time. But then I realized that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you always need to. You can hold back. You can let loose. You can have intimate moments and diva moments and it can all be you. You could be vulnerable. You could be soft. You can change your tone. You can tell a story and that is really important. The last couple of rounds, I was struggling with who I was.”

Gagnon’s biggest surprise during her Idol run so far is the competition itself. “We’re such a close-knit family, being together for so long and learning from each other. It doesn’t feel like a competition anymore. It’s such a diverse group that I didn’t expect it to be so familial and supportive.” Support is nothing new to Gagnon. “My parents supported my music even before I knew I wanted to do it. My mom put me in piano lessons and I hated it. She had me play trombone and I hated it. But she’s always been pushing me to be artistic and creative. I think my dad just wants me to be me and said he wasn’t really pushing me in any direction but the second I said, ‘Music is very important to me,’ he’s been unwaveringly supportive and in such a dad way too. He cheers on the sidelines like it’s sports. It’s not a theater cheer. It’s like stand up and ‘Let’s go!’ But I love that. They’re both very excited for me.”

Looking ahead, Gagon says, “If I could design my future, I would incorporate the things that are important to me as much as I can into a music career. So still staying close to family and still writing songs that are close to my heart. That would be the dream, to have everything that I need to support me and having enough love to share and give out my music and performance and art.”

Triston Harper

Born : June 17, 2008 – Mobile, Ala.

Favorite Alums: Colin Stough, Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chayce Beckham

Musical Influences: Johnny Cash, Charles Johnson

First Idol Experience: “I’ve always watched since I was a little boy. My favorite thing was the funny auditions where people would walk in and they would sing and we would just die and then someone would walk in and just blow your mind.”

Raised in McIntosh, Ala., Triston Harper found music before he was even born. “My mama sang nursery rhymes to me when I was in the womb. Later, she taught me how to play ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ on the piano.”

When he was six, Harper sang in church with his grandaddy. “It was homecoming and there was a butt load of people there and they requested for me to sing. So he got up there with me and we sang and everybody loved it. I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.” Harper continued to sing in school. “They always put me out front. I sang. I preached. When we moved to Conway in Arkansas, they put me in choir to learn how to read music. After that, I forgot everything, and I’ve been unable to read music ever since. So I just listen and I’ll grab my guitar and pick it up.” Harper wrote his first song when he was seven. “It’s called ‘I’m Yours, You’re Mine.’ It is God talking to me. I still sing it.”

Even though he has watched American Idol all of his life, Harper says he didn’t have the courage to audition until last year. “My grandaddy said, ‘One day, boy, it might be you.’ I never thought it would happen. An ad [for auditions] kept popping up and I kept swiping it away. The Lord spoke to me and said, ‘If you take a step toward me, I’ll take two toward you.’ So I signed up with all my information and I’m here.”

Only 15, Harper has already learned valuable lessons during his time on Idol . “When your mentors and your vocal coach tell you to do something, they’ve got your best interests and they want to see you progress far in this competition. So be yourself and make the right song choices and put your faith in yourself.”

One of Harper’s mentors this season was Jelly Roll, who said the youngster had the soul of a 75-year-old. “I get that a lot,” Harper tells Billboard . “I try to give people a lot of advice and they say I’m young but they take it and go a long way with it. I’ve been through a lot and I know what to do in situations and I give people hope and courage so they don’t turn to drugs or alcohol. My teachers are surprised because I’ve taught them a lot about decisions they’ve made that weren’t the best. They say, ‘I should have listened to Triston.’”

The teenager admits it was surreal standing in front of Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. “The first time I did, I was shocked. The second time I was like, ‘Okay.’ The third time I was getting used to them and now I look at them as aunts and uncles. They’re family now.”

Harper has taken in their advice. “Katy Perry told me about my pronunciation, that she wants to hear what I’m saying and I’ve tried my best in this competition to pronounce my words more than when they first met me. Lionel Richie told me to be me, to keep that old Alabama soul. Luke Bryan smiled at me and said I’m doing what I’m supposed to. When you hear that from people you look up to, it means the world.”

Asked what he wants his future to look like, it was clear he has given the subject a lot of thought. “I’ve got about 60 some acres, living in a nice home. We have four kids and I’ve been married to my wife about 20 some years and last Saturday I performed at an arena with people singing along with my songs.”

Born : May 22, 2003 – Ogden, Utah

Favorite Alum:  Carrie Underwood

Musical Influences:  Katy Perry, Adele, Carrie Underwood

First  Idol  Experience:  “I watched Carrie Underwood. She was a small-town girl living her small-town life and then her life changed overnight, and I related to her.”

Kaibrienne grew up an hour away from her birthplace, in Henefer, Utah. She describes it as a “super-small town.” She had two gateways to music. “I listened on YouTube, and I listened to my older sister sing. She would jam out in our car to Katy Perry hits like ‘California Gurls,’ ‘Teenage Dream’ and ‘Last Friday Night.’” So what was it like when Kaibrienne first met Katy? “I was freaking out. I could never have imagined that I would have the opportunity to meet her. I haven’t told her yet about my sister.”

Kaibrienne says her parents were not musical, but her sisters had leads and other parts in their high school musicals. “I thought that I would want to do that. I loved watching them in  Les Misérables ,  Hairspray  and  The Music Man .”

In school, Kaibrienne was active in sports and cheerleading. “Then I was listening to a girl on YouTube sing ‘Hallelujah’ and I told my family I wanted to sing it at a school talent show. None of them knew I had been singing alone in my room so I sang it for them and they said I should definitely do that. My focus at the time was on tumbling but after that I loved singing.”

At the talent show, one of Kaibrienne’s teachers leaned over to her father and said, “She has a God-given gift. She’s going to do big things.”

“There weren’t a lot of opportunities, but my dad tried to find places where I could sing. I struggled with performance anxiety where my hands and feet and face would go numb. My throat would go dry. And so I never wanted to perform. I practiced and I hated it. I thought I sounded so much better than what I was able to give. Things fell apart with cheerleading and tumbling so I was trying to find my place in the world. I tried out for high school musicals and I was in  Shrek ,  Into the Woods  and  High School Musical .

How did Kaibrienne overcome her anxiety? “My dad posted videos of me singing in the car on TikTok. They started going viral. He told me, ‘Look at all these people who believe in you.’ But I still wouldn’t sing outside of the car. Over the summer I was working in sales, knocking on people’s doors. I’m in the middle of Florida and a pastor opened his door. He didn’t know anything about me. But he said, ‘This isn’t what you were sent here to do. I feel like you have a dream that you are running from.’ I told him he was exactly right. He said, “God wouldn’t have given you this gift if there wasn’t a way to work through it. If you take this seriously, big things are going to happen for you in the next year.’”

That was the last door Kaibrienne knocked on. “The second I got home I started singing alone again. I studied guitar and began writing songs and then  Idol  reached out to me and everything fell into place.” So it’s no surprise what Kaibrienne has learned from her  Idol  journey to date. “I’ve learned to love myself in a lot of ways. Being on the show has instilled a lot of confidence in me that I didn’t have before. Even during my audition, I felt insecure. I’ve learned I’m here because I sound like me, not because I sound like anyone else. I’m here because I’m me and not anybody else and I feel like each round, I’ve grown more and more. I’ve worked through so much of the performance anxiety that I never thought I’d be able to work through.”

And what lies ahead? “I’m going to do this forever. I want to write music forever. I’ve always wanted to heal people through music the way that it’s healed me, and so that’s my goal.”

Born : June 14, 2000 – Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Favorite Alums:  Chris Daughtry, James Durbin

Musical Influences:  Bon Jovi, Journey, Whitesnake, Queen, Ed Sheeran

First  Idol  Experience : “When Chris Daughtry got voted off, I wrote a handwritten letter to  American Idol  and said, ‘You made a mistake. This guy’s a star.’”

“I have older parents and they looked in the Yellow Pages to find a piano teacher. My dad said, ‘I want you to teach my son. He’s three years old. And the teacher said, ‘We normally like them to read English before they read music.’ My dad told him, ‘He reads, let’s get him in. We’ve got to start him early.’ So I went to his studio and my little legs didn’t touch the floor. I was swinging off the piano bench and I learned how to read music along with English. When I was 10, my parents asked if I actually liked taking lessons. I said, ‘I’ve been doing it forever, so I might as well keep doing it. It’s a part of my identity at this point.’”

Kayko says he was always a music kid. “I did classical piano competitions for a long time and then I always wanted to change the song and not play what’s on the page, so I did jazz. And I thought, ‘This really isn’t really my vibe. I’m a rocker. I would never do a singing competition, not even  American Idol . I would never try out for that.’ And then I did theater.”  

After appearing in musicals like  Side Show ,  In the Heights ,  Ghost ,  Cabaret  and  9 to 5 , Kayko turned to YouTube and  Billboard  to see what music was popular and was inspired to record cover songs. “I was definitely a YouTube kid and that’s how I learned how to produce my own music.”

Kayko attended Berklee College of Music for three semesters, until he realized he didn’t want go to school. “I quit and moved to Nashville. I needed to write and produce my own songs. I needed to book live shows. I had no mentorship or insight, just a dream of being an artist and putting out music.”

Kayko’s audition for  Idol  was unlike most other tryouts but he assures  Billboard  that what was shown on television was 100% true. “I don’t know if the world will ever believe that. One of my very good friends from college, Abby Blake, got a call to do  American Idol  and they wanted her to prepare two songs but said the accompanist would only play one. She said, ‘I feel more comfortable with you in the room.’”

Kayko agreed to go with her. They woke up at 4 a.m. for the Nashville audition and sat in a room all day without ever seeing the judges. The producers asked Blake to come back the next day and Kayko said he would return with her.

“Abby’s voice was shot and she wasn’t feeling well that day and I was thinking I have to break the ice for her, so I was probably talking way more than any accompanist has ever done before. Abby sang her song and got a yes. Katy Perry looks at me and says, ‘There’s something about you. You look like an artist.’ I said, ‘No, I’m not doing this.’ Abby said I should sing for these three music legends. I played an original song and they look at each other and tell me I’m going to Hollywood. What?!”

But Kayko had a huge conflict. “I booked a job in New York playing guitar for a new off-Broadway musical,  Hard Road to Heaven , and I had this in place for a year. The guy who got me the gig put his neck on the line for me and now I have to call him and say, ‘I don’t know what to do. Katy Perry just told me that I have a thing and I need to go to Hollywood Week and I could get cut and get no airtime and lose this thing, or it could be great.’ He said, “I would never hold you back from doing something like that.’ So I spent a week and a half in New York and flew directly to L.A. for Hollywood Week. The only reason I went was for that chance for airtime and the potential viral moment and for my friend Abby. She got cut in Hollywood and I’m still here.”

It could have been an awkward situation, but it wasn’t. “Abby and I are real friends and we’re both in the music industry and know that it’s not personal. I didn’t take her spot. My dad always said, ‘If Simon Cowell walked into the bar and you’re playing a lousy gig, are you going to blow him away?’ And it actually happened with Katy Perry.”

Mia Matthews

Born : Dec. 7, 2004 – Gadsden, Ala.

Favorite Alums:  Daniel Seavey, Clark Beckham, Nick Fradiani, Laci Kaye Booth

Musical Influences : Dolly Parton, Kelsea Ballerini, Kacey Musgraves

First  Idol  Experience:  “I grew up watching the show. My older sister Sadie loved it. I had an  American Idol  karaoke machine. I would stand on my mini trampoline like a stage and then sing with my  American Idol  microphone.”

Born in Gadsden, Ala., Mia Matthews grew up in a very musical family 45 minutes down the road. “My dad was a heavy metal rock star, playing electric guitar. I’m told he toured with Whitesnake. My mom sang with Ernest Tubb and Barbara Mandrell. When I was three, my dad passed away and music was our therapy. It’s how we coped. My mom taught vocal lessons at our house. There’s never been a point in my life where I wasn’t surrounded by music.”

The middle child of seven, Matthews remembers taking road trips with her mother and siblings. “There’s not much to do in Alabama so we would drive around. Mama would play a game with us to see if we could find harmony. It started with, ‘I’m going to hit this note. See where you land.’ And then we sang ‘Jesus Loves Me.’”

Matthews sang in elementary school, but her mother pulled her out of public school and home schooled her children. “Singing was our passion and we would sing for anyone and everyone. My mom led worship at church – she was the choir director. One day when I was 11, we were shopping at Walmart and we sang the National Anthem for the cashier because she was having a bad day. A woman behind us recorded it and posted it on Facebook and it went viral."

The family booked small shows in Centre, Ala., and performed at football games and festivals. “We moved our way up to Nashville and did shows on Broadway at Ole Red. I was 15 and my little sister was 13.”

Matthews never believed it would be possible to appear on  American Idol . “This past summer I felt stagnant. I had just graduated from high school. I wanted to be a singer but how do I do that? What was the next step? I was searching for an opportunity but was it time to open the door to  Idol ? Then I received a message asking if I wanted to audition and somehow I am here now.”

Mia asked her sister Jacy if she also wanted to audition. “She hopped on some of our virtual auditions and they loved her, too. So we both went to Nashville to audition for Katy, Luke and Lionel. We both got golden tickets and made it to Hollywood. I had been singing with my mom and sister in a trio for years. So we were very comfortable singing with each other but this was a brand-new experience. We were together but we were separate. It was really comforting to have her there because she is my best friend.”

Jacy was cut during Hollywood Week, leaving Mia to compete on her own. “It hurt me, but she took it like a champ. She’s been so supportive. I’m blessed to have such a good relationship with her.”

Will Moseley

Born : July 10, 2000 – Douglas, Georgia

Favorite Alums: Chris Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson

Musical Influences:  Bob Seger, Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs, Blackberry Smoke

First  Idol  Experience:  “In an interview I said I remember the season that Adam Lambert won, and they all looked at me and said, ‘He didn’t win.’ I was a kid, but I remember watching it.”

Growing up in Hazlehurst, Ga., Will Moseley always loved music. “My uncle drove a big semi-truck, and I would go on the road with him. He had a Bob Seger  Greatest Hits  CD and my mom listened to Shania Twain. There was a Shania CD in her car. We played the fire out of that thing. My dad was an earlier Kid Rock fan, so then we covered that genre and then I loved classic country music. That’s just part of the culture where I’m from. Waylon and Willie, George, Merle, Conway, all of that. As a kid, I remember we would go camping and every Friday night at 9 o’clock there was a local radio station that would play Johnny Paycheck’s ‘Old Violin.’ And so now if I’m playing a show, I’ll take an acoustic break in the middle of a full band show and it’s just me and an acoustic guitar playing ‘Old Violin.’”

Music became an important part of Moseley’s life when he was 15. “You know how parents are when Christmas comes around. ‘What do you want for Christmas?’ I told my mom I wanted a guitar. I thought it would be cool to learn how to play. She looked at me and said, ‘Are you going to learn how to play? I’m not buying something else to put in a closet.’ I told her, ‘I’ll give it a shot.’ She bought the guitar and I picked it up and my fingers hurt. My brain didn’t work with my hand. I didn’t even think they were connected to the same body. And after two days it went in the closet. It was a disappointment to my mom at the time, but a few years later I was in college and I took my guitar to school with me."

When he ended up with a dorm room to himself for a few months, he started playing around with the guitar again. "I decided to teach myself. After Christmas break I didn’t have a TV in my room so all of my free time went into learning how to play guitar.”

Moseley worked at a printing company during the COVID years, when a lot of people were laid off.  “They never brought me back and I had a lot of time on my hands so I played guitar and learned more songs and developed my singing. I found little places that would pay me a couple hundred bucks here and there to play. That’s how I paid my way through college.”

Moseley graduated from Georgia Southern in May 2023 with a degree in biology. He had enough gigs lined up to pay his bills for a few months. “If I didn’t give being a full-time musician a shot I would regret it. So I gave myself a year and said if it wasn’t working by then, I’d get a real job. Eleven months later I’m working with Gene Simmons and Meghan Trainor. If you told me that a year ago, I would have called you a liar.”

Moseley says he has learned a lot during his time on  Idol , especially from mentors Jelly Roll and Gene Simmons. “They both said the same thing: ‘You’re in the right lane. You just have to own it. You’re here for a reason and you have the voice to do this for the rest of your life.’ Of course, there’s going to be turns and hills and ups and downs and all that, but the biggest thing I’ve learned so far truthfully has probably been humbleness and that connections will take you further than anything else in the music business.”

Moseley has a clear eye on the road ahead. “All I want to do is get on a bus and drive around the country and play music for a living. If I play music until the day I die, I’ll die happy.” 

Emmy Russell

Born : Jan. 10, 1989 – Nashville, Tenn.

Favorite Alums:  Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson

Musical Influences:  Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus

First  Idol  Experience:  Watching on her bed, singing along. “I loved the funny auditions.”

“I was supposed to be born on March 12,” says Emmy Russell. “I was a preemie born on Jan. 10, my meemaw and grandpa’s anniversary.” (Meemaw being the legendary Loretta Lynn). "I was in an incubator for 30 days because of an undeveloped lung. Ironically, I sing.”

As soon as Russell was out of the incubator, she was on the road with her mother, who managed Lynn. “Meemaw took me on stage and showed me to everyone, saying, ‘This is Emmy Rose.’”

That was one introduction to music. “My first memory of music was when I was two, seeing a piano player. I was singing my ABCs and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” When I was four, I wrote stories and then I wrote my first song for a second-grade talent show. It was called ‘Try Again,’ about not giving up.”

Russell continued to write songs at this early age, including “Identity.” “Which is ironic,” she says, “because that’s been my war – what is my identity? In school, all the girls would be chasing boys and I was writing songs. I was a bit overweight, wearing big T-shirts and being quiet. I was bullied a lot. I started playing guitar and put my stories into songs.”

Russell’s grandmother had a huge influence on her. “She had this charm about her. She wrote the truth. It must be embarrassing writing a song about your husband cheating on you all the time, but she did. People would ask her about that and she would say, ‘I still love him.’ Her gutsiness is the thing I’ve taken the most from her, but I didn’t realize that until recently. She made you feel like she was so likeable. She would sing ‘Fist City’ but it was never hateful. She smiled whenever she sang it.”

In middle school, Russell was in the chorus. During her high school years, she continued to be on the road with her meemaw. “I opened up for her.” That actually started when Russell was in fourth grade. “She’d call me up and I’d sing two songs. I had an original and then one everyone knew. She’d tell me, ‘People want to hear a song they know. Until you have a song that’s your original one, people want to hear a song that they know so they can sing with you.’” During those high school years, Russell would open with five or six songs. “When I was 15, she passed me down her guitar. It started to feel like we were business partners and that created a lot of pressure. I quit when I was 18.”

Asked about lessons learned while on Idol , Russell says, “Trust your spirit. For some people, it’s God. Just trusting that little voice inside. Being true to yourself is the biggest lesson I’m learning right now. Because when I’m not, my voice gets really pitchy. I get more nervous when I’m not myself.”

Looking ahead, Russell says she wants to travel to different countries. “I love kids. Music is my passion, but I want to use that to help other people. If you’re not, then what’s the point?”

Jordan Anthony (Eliminated)

Born : Dec. 16, 2004 – Melbourne, Australia

Favorite Alums:  Adam Lambert, Kelly Clarkson, Lauren Spencer-Smith, Iam Tongi, Guy Sebastian ( Australian Idol )

Musical Influences:  Ed Sheeran, Adele, Sam Smith, Bruno Mars

First Idol Experience:  “When I was younger, I used to watch the compilation videos like 'The Best of American Idol' or 'Craziest American Idol Auditions.' I loved them as a kid. I thought that could be me one day.”

Jordan Anthony has heard this story from his mother but finds it hard to believe: “When I was one and a half I’d be in my parents’ car and when this certain song came on the radio, I would sing along and hit this one note pitch-perfectly every time. That is the moment my parents realized I might be a singer.”

Anthony grew up around music. “My dad was a vocal coach. My parents met doing musical theater, so I’ve always been in that world.” When he was five, his parents put him into musical theater shows. “I realized a couple years later that wasn’t really the thing for me.” At seven, he wrote his first song, “Wait,” about being bullied at school. “I had some tough times at school. I’d come home from classes and sit down at the piano. I was never good at talking about my feelings, so for me, music was an outlet because I could express those things.”

When he was 10, his family moved from Melbourne to Perth. “I busked on the streets there. My mom was my roadie. There’s nothing scarier than standing in a random spot, singing to people walking by. But it helped me develop my confidence and my stage presence. I sang for money and saved up until I had enough to record my first album, One Word , when I was 12.”

Anthony still lives in Perth, so he had a long journey to come to America to audition before the judges on American Idol . But this is not the first time he has performed for millions of viewers. When he was 14, he represented Australia at the 2019 edition of the Junior Eurovision Song Contest , performing a song he co-wrote, “We Will Rise.” “I looked very different back then,” he tells Billboard . “It was unbelievable to perform on a world stage in an arena full of people with Australian flags flying everywhere. It was incredible and I met incredible people, other young artists like myself from all around the world and I made friends everywhere. It was such an honor to be able to do that.”

Although his Idol journey came to an end on Sunday (April 21), he says he learned a lot during his time on the show. “One skill that I’ve learned is to control my energy and my emotions and my nerves. There are a lot of ups and downs. One minute we’re going onstage. It’s high energy and then you might be sitting around for a few hours and then you’ve got to be ready for showtime again. I’ve been lucky to always have a good head on my shoulders and be able to manage my emotions, but in the pressure cooker environment, it gets tough sometimes.”

Helping Anthony along the way was sage advice from Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. “They’ve mentioned that even when I was singing a cover, they felt my artistry through the performance. That meant so much because I always want people to see who I am through the emotions I’m conveying and the song I’m singing.”

Roman Collins (Eliminated)

Born : Sept. 18, 1999 – Natchitoches, La.

Favorite Alums:  Haley Reinhart, Phillip Phillips, Jessica Sanchez, Joshua Ledet, Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson, Tori Kelly, Kelly Clarkson

Musical Influences:  The Clark Sisters, Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, Andre Crouch, Timothy Wright, John Legend, Blossom Dearie, Tony Bennett, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker

First  Idol  Experience:  “I was a bit young when Kelly Clarkson won. Then I saw Ruben Studdard and Fantasia.”

Roman Collins is a worship leader who grew up in Coushatta, La. “Most people say I started in church,” he tells Billboard . “I’m still in church, where I am also a choir director. I’m told that when I was three years old sitting in my mother’s lap, I got up, grabbed a mic and sang Vicki Yohe’s ‘Because Of Who You Are’ in front of everyone in church.” When he was a little older, Collins was always asking his teachers if he could sing in class. “How annoying is that?” he laughs. “I would hate to be a classmate of mine. “I have to study for this test and Roman wants to sing. Can we not do that?”

Collins was only aware of religious music until the third grade. “My uncle is a great musician and he would say this artist was doing R&B and I thought R&B was a group. I didn’t realize there were other genres besides gospel. Then I found out about Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston. Eventually I heard Tony Bennett and Amy Winehouse, Blossom Dearie and B.B. King.”

Moving to Los Angeles in 2007, Collins went to a small high school that didn’t have music classes until he graduated. “Thanks a lot!” he exclaims. “When I was 16 I started going to open mics at places like Tha Juice Joint in Hollywood and the Pocket in Culver City. I would watch people from all different walks of life share their gift. It was the best thing ever. I would sing Musiq Soulchild, Marvin Gaye, John Legend and Gnarls Barkley. That opened me up to more R&B and awakened my creative bones.” Then Collins started to get paying gigs. “In December 2018 I sang behind Childish Gambino at the Forum [in Inglewood, Calif.].”

Auditioning for American Idol was always in the back of his mind, he says. “But I did not pursue it. When I was 14 there was a woman visiting our family’s church. She told me, ‘Young man, I want you to write American Idol and put it on your door and look at it every day.’ I never did it, but I never forgot her prophesizing that to me.” But that door opened on a Wednesday in November 2023 when Collins was asked to submit a couple of his videos to the show. “By the following Tuesday I was in front of Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. That changed my life forever.”

The main lesson Collins has learned since starting that journey is that “rest is vital,” he says. “I want to do this for the rest of my life and it is important to rest when you can. I have also learned that I have a platform that God has allowed and to use it for the better. I’ve changed by being more consistent vocally, doing what I have to do to get my voice ready. I’m eating better but I miss my ginger ale.” And what lies ahead? “Changing the world through love,” he answers without hesitation. “Changing the world through music. People ask me why I am so passionate. Because I had a second chance at life. When I was three, I was pronounced dead. I was in a coma for two weeks. The doctor said there was a 97% chance I was going to die. If I did come out of the coma, I would be brain dead for the rest of my life. So when you see me jumping, when you hear my laugh, I’m laughing at fear. I’m alive. I’m doing what I love. Some people are impacted through my gift. We have a saying in church, ‘The joy that I have, the world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.’ I want to import the same joy that He has given me.”

Jayna Elise (Eliminated)

Born : Sept. 26, 2001 – Washington, D.C.

Favorite Alums:  Michael J. Woodard, Catie Turner, Grace Kinstler

Musical Influences:  Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Diana Ross & the Supremes, Journey, Queen, Mötley Crüe

First  Idol  Experience:  She started watching season 3, the year Fantasia won.

“My grandparents had a rule: No TV until 4 o’clock in the afternoon. You could either play outside or listen to the oldies on the music channel they listened to. That’s what I grew up on. My whole family sings and some of my earliest memories are singing with my grandma at the piano. She taught me how to play the piano. When she and my grandfather were 19, they were in a band. They went to an audition in New York and she got scared and didn’t show up. Then she gave birth to my mom. My mom also sings, but never professionally.”

Elise was six years old when she wrote her first song. “I was in the back seat of the car and was mad because I was told to do something and I didn’t want to do it. That was kind of the vibe of the song: ‘I’m going solo, solo, solo.’ Sometimes it will pop into my head and I think I should do something with it.”

When Elise went to live with her mother, she started listening to music on YouTube. “I posted some covers. The first video that went viral was ‘Skyfall,’ the Adele song. It got 40,000 views in one month. My most-viewed video is me singing the gospel song ‘Take Me to the King.’ I was 11 and it has eight million views now.” That led to more performances at different churches and that same year, Elise joined the children’s group Kidz Bop. “We covered ‘All About That Bass’ and Meghan Trainor sent us a video message saying she couldn’t believe we were covering her song. And now I got to meet her because she is our mentor for Billboard ’s No. 1 Hits.”

After touring with Kidz Bop, Elise attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in the District of Columbia. “That’s where I became classically trained,” she says. “I sang opera there but I also learned how to actually sing. Before I was just going through the motions but my teacher Daphne Dunston Wharton taught me how to breathe correctly.”

Two years ago, Elise wanted to rebrand herself from the little girl singing with Kidz Bop. Having just moved to Los Angeles, she thought about auditioning for American Idol . She tried out for season 21 last year and went as far as the Showstoppers round during Hollywood Week.

“I definitely had my reservations about auditioning again. I saw people who came back last year and they didn’t make it as far as they had before. It is a risk coming back. But I knew that I had grown and that I had a better handle on everything.”

Elise says her most outstanding moment with the judges this season happened during Final Judgment, when the field was narrowed down to a top 24. “Hearing Lionel say you’re not a background singer anymore and that I made it into the top 24 was my goal. I was talking to another one of the contestants and she said, ‘After you get to where you thought you were going to make it, everything else is a gift.’ That put things in perspective for me, because getting to this point is an opportunity I’m really grateful for.”

Nya (Eliminated)

Born : Nov. 10, 1995 – Fort Meyers, Fla.

Favorite Alums:  Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood

Musical Influences:  Whitney Houston, Victoria Monét

First  Idol  Experience:  Watched season one and decided she wanted to be on the show.

“Every Sunday when I would hear [the music of] Sade I knew it was our cleaning day. Mom and I would go to the laundromat. Throughout the day we’d listen to Barry White and African music. That’s my earliest memory of loving music and wanting to dance around and it made the chores seem like fun.”

It may be difficult to believe now but Nya grew up in a family that didn’t want her to become a professional musician. “My family would not pay for any type of music lessons because in my culture in Kenya, it is considered a hobby. It’s not really a life choice or a life career. I grew up in America, but I lived a very strict Kenyan lifestyle. At school, I was in the marching band. I was in band. I taught myself how to play instruments. I started off with clarinet. Went to saxophone, piano, guitar, and did a whole bunch of band-related instruments as well like trumpet. Vocally, if you’re playing an instrument, you can learn so much. So I knew if I learned these instruments that it would only help my voice even more.

“I was going to school to become a lawyer. I was on the student court. I was a very smart kid and didn’t really have to be in school to get good grades and manipulated the system in that way. I started doing school plays. I got a scholarship through playing the clarinet. They wanted me to come and then once I got there, they heard me sing and said, ‘You’re not playing clarinet. You’re going to sing.’ That was the first moment that I thought, ‘I can sing and this is what I want to do.

“At college, I was in an a cappella group, Voices Of Lee, as in Lee University. I lost my voice, singing with a group of people and having to blend, learn other people’s voices and make a group sound good. It was a toxic environment.”

Four years later, Nya moved to New York. In school and summer camp she had been in  Ragtime  and  Shrek . Now she was going to try her hand at Broadway. First, she went home and told her mother that she wanted to pursue a career in music. “She wasn’t having it. She came here from Africa with nothing and wanted the best life for me. In her head, that meant going to school to become a doctor, a lawyer or an engineer. I did not want to be a singing lawyer.”

Nya moved to New York City with nothing and within three years, she was in her first Broadway show,  Caroline, or Change . She had the lead in an off-Broadway show,  Cleopatra , and then played Nina Simone in an Israeli production of  Soul Doctor  and Martha Reeves in a touring production of  Motown: The Musical . In  Beautiful , the Carole King musical, she portrayed Little Eva and sang “The Loco-Motion.” Most recently she was in the off-Broadway hit  Titanique .

Post- Idol , Nya intends to continue with her Broadway career. “Oh yes. I don’t have a Tony yet, so they’ve got to have me back. One of the shows I really want to do is  Hamilton . I want to write my own musicals. I want to do TV, film, all of the above. Have my own beauty line.”

Nya’s father passed away in Georgia when she was 16, and when she sang “Georgia on My Mind” on  Idol , she dedicated it to him. And her relationship with her mother now? “It’s good. She just really wanted me to succeed and I think whatever that would have been, she would have been happy with. Now that I’m an adult, I feel like she is way more open and really proud of me. To hear her say those words knocks me for a loop.”

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