Three Canadians made it into the Top 24 of this season’s American Idol.
During the episode that aired Monday, Cameron Whitcomb of Kamloops, B.C., Toronto university student Nicolina Bozzo and Toronto-born Leah Marlene advanced to the next round of competition.
Whitcomb, who was 18 when he auditioned last October, performed Bob Dylan’s 1964 song “It Ain’t Me Babe” during the Showstoppers round, which was taped in November.
Judge Katy Perry said Whitcomb was “kind of head-scratcher” to she and fellow judges Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan because his “stage presence is really fidgety.”
Whitcomb is the first Canadian male to make it into the Top 24.
Marlene, who was 20 when she auditioned, covered Larkin Poe’s 2020 track “She’s A Self-Made Man” while playing electric guitar. Her father, Derry Grehan of Canadian rock band Honeymoon Suite, was in the audience.
Perry told Marlene: “You definitely were the guitar queen and I was hoping it was more vocal queen.”
Bozzo performed Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" on the Showstoppers stage, prompting Bryan to comment that he got goosebumps.
All three singers headed to Hawaii’s Aulani Disney Resort in February to tape episodes in which they competed for a spot in the final 12, who will perform on the live shows that begin later this month.
American Idol started allowing Canadians to compete in its 18th season. B.C. singer Lauren Spencer-Smith became the first Canadian to make it to the Top 20 of Idol but she was eliminated in the first viewers-voted round.
Last year, Ontario’s Heather Russell and Lorand Kis earned golden tickets at their auditions but didn’t make it past Hollywood Week.
This article has been updated since it was first published.