Hollywood Week is a stressful time for both American Idol contestants as well as the judges. One contestant let her emotions get the better of her, getting in a heated exchange with judge Luke Bryan.
Madai ChaKell and Bryan likely already weren't on the best terms. Bryan gave her a no during her initial audition, but her Hollywood Week performance made that audition look downright cordial. ChaKell performed "Tattooed Heart" by Ariana Grande, but she stopped the performance twice due to her voice cracking.
She asked for multiple attempts to sing the song before sending away her pianist. She blamed the pianist for why she struggled to perform the tune. "My pianist just completely flipped the script on what we had practiced," she said. "Ok, we're going to do this acapella. Because that's not flowing the way we practiced."
However, the pianist wasn't the only one who drew ChaKell's anger. The singer performed the song without the pianist. However, she didn't quite get the response she wanted from the judges. While they did applaud the song, they weren't exactly thrilled with her performance on it.
Luke Bryan and 'American Idol' Contestant Get Heated
In particular, Bryan pointed out that ChaKell's voice was "shaky in spots." He wanted to know if the contestant's voice was failing her. He asked her, "Is your voice 100%?"
"Not to where I would like it," ChaKell said. But backstage, she called out the singer. It's obvious that Bryan's words greatly annoyed ChaKell."Is your voice ok, Luke?" she said. "Because I haven't heard you sing! Obviously, I can sing."
However, Bryan and the other judges were willing to give her a second chance. They invited her back on stage to perform again for them. "It's great to have you back," Bryan said. "We understand the dynamics of it now." He also wanted to create an environment where ChaKell didn't feel nervous perform.
However, ChaKell couldn't let Bryan's original criticism of her voice go. Rather than graciously accept the second chance, she took the opportunity to confront the judge. ChaKell called out Bryan for his criticism of her voice. She said, "Can I have a chair, perhaps, because I'm getting a 'little bit shaky.'"
Ultimately, ChaKell got on both Bryan and the other judges bad sides with the remark.
"Maybe we'll do 'American Humble' at some point," Bryan told her. "Probably not winning the audience with that one." Ultimately, she did not survive the Hollywood Week culling.
