El Paso singer Julian Kalel Almanzan keeps moving up. The 19-year-old made it to the Top 20 Monday, March 9 on “American Idol”.
Episode seven was the Ohana Round, in which industry experts and influencers, the idol contestants themselves and their families got to vote for three singers to make it to the next round with the Idol Platinum ticket.
El Paso country singer Julian Kalel, posted on his Instagram, he is auditioning on “American Idol”. The new season 24 begins Monday, Jan. 26
Judges Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan then picked the next 17 finalists, which included Almanzan.
Almanzan sang a song he wrote, “Surrender” about his own struggles with anxiety. He dedicated the song to his papa and thanked him for always “being on my side through my worst and best. And I love you.”
Once again, the judges loved his performance. They have heard him sing the song before, but said they have seen his growth since his last performance of his original song.
Bryan said it was one of his favorite performances of the night.
Where to watch ‘American Idol’
“American Idol” airs at 6 p.m. MT/7 CT Monday on the ABC Network. “American Idol” Season 24 will be available to stream the following day on Hulu.
A subscription to Hulu costs $11.99 a month (or $119.99/year) for the ad-supported plan. Students can get Hulu with ads for $1.99 a month, and Hulu Premium (no ads) is $18.99 a month.
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MarÃa Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @eptmaria.bsky.social on Bluesky, and @eptmariacg on TikTok.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Julian Kalel Almanzan advances on ‘American Idol’