Who Will Win American Idol Season 22? Episode 3

The latest "American Idol" episode saw the judges, Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie, and Katy Perry, wowed by a former TV talent show runner-up. 

Scarlett Lee, who finished runner up on "The X Factor UK" in 2018 was one of the stars of the night on Sunday's third episode of "American Idol's" 22nd season.

In the latest episode, the judges dished out another 11 Golden Tickets, which booked the lucky recipients a place in Hollywood Week, but they kept their Platinum Tickets in their pockets this time around.  

The first two Auditions episodes of the series have seen the panelists hand out two Platinum Tickets, to +100 favorite Abi Carter and +200 second favorite Odell Bunton Jr.. Still, none of episode three's lucky Golden Ticket recipients received an upgrade to allow them to skip the first round of performances during Hollywood Week. 

Lee Brings Her X Factor 

From "The X Factor UK" to "American Idol", Lee could be a serious contender if she performs as well as she did on the UK show. 

After singing "Clown" by Emeli Sande, Perry and Bryan both said she has a "vibe", with Perry adding: "Your soul is shining through."

She is now +300 joint-fourth favorite to win this year's "American Idol",  just ahead of +450 chance Nick Connors, who also impressed on Sunday night. 

Richie has tipped the wannabe for "big things", while Perry predicted he will make the Top 24 this season.

Perry was also a fan of +550 chance Kyra after describing her version of "Up to the Mountain" as "great", but the judge admitted the wannabe lacked some confidence during her audition. 

Like Kyra, Will Moseley (+600) also received three yeses, but Richie only just had time to deliver his verdict before running off to catch a flight. 

Siblings Off To Hollywood 

One of the stories of the third episode of the season was the separate auditions of siblings Max and Laela Dasher, who are related to the Duck Dynasty family. 

Max, 18, opened the episode with his old-school country music voice, and Perry loved his "sparkle". 

But the judge wasn't such a fan of Max's sister Laela. 

After Laela performed John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery" in her own audition, the panelists requested the pair duet, and they obliged with a version of "Rivers and Roads". 

While Max (+650) received three yeses, Perry rejected Laela (+1200), but Richie and Bryan sent her through to the next round.  

Elsewhere, "American Idol" contestants CJ Rislove and Aniston Pate are both +750 in the futures betting, after they both drew comparisons to some music legends during their auditions. 

Perry said Rislove reminded her of Sir Elton John and Billy Joel, and they judges enjoyed visiting his refurbished school bus home. 

What's more, Pate was compared to country music legend Dolly Parton, with Richie even saying during her audition: "Is that you Dolly?"

Madai Props Up Market 

Madai Chakell is currently propping up the "American Idol" market at +1500 after just making it through to the next round. 

She sang Perry's "I Kissed A Girl" hit, but the panelist asked her to change her tune to "Happy Birthday".   

Chakell did enough to receive yes votes from Perry and Richie, but she was rejected by Bryan. 

Despite this, she is still off to Hollywood alongside Jennifer Jeffries (+800), who Richie insisted has a "diamond in the roughness" about her, and Kimi (+900). 

It was an emotional audition from Kosovo native Kimi, who hasn't seen his family in six years after moving to the US.

Perry suggested he ring his parents, and he sang a song in Albanian to his mother, who was given another treat as the judges gave him three yeses while she was still on the call. 

"American Idol" will now take a one-week break before returning on March 17th. 

Who Will Win American Idol Season 22?

• Abi Carter +100 50% 
• Odell Bunton Jr. +200 33.3%
• Hailey Mia +250 28.6% 
• Scarlett Lee +300 25% 
• Blake Proehl +300 25% 
• Micaela McCall +400 20%
• Justice Murphy +400 20%
• Nick Connors +450 18.2%
• Ziggy +500 16.7%
• McKenna Breinholt +500 16.7%
• Kyra +550 15.4% 
• Will Moseley +600 14.3%
• Mackenzie Sol +600 14.3%
• Nya +600 14.3%
• Emmy Russell +600 14.3%
• Max Dasher +650 13.3%
• Meggie Iyer +700 12.5%
• KB +700 12.5%
• CJ Rislove +750 11.8%
• Aniston Pate +750 11.8%
• Jennifer Jeffries +800 11.1%
• Noah Peters +800 11.1%
• Ajii +800 11.1%
• Kimi +900 10%
• Triston Harper +900 10% 
• Kennedy Reid +1000 9.1%
• Sam “Kayko” Kelly-Cohen +1000 9.1%
• Abby Blake +1100 8.3%
• Laela Dasher +1200 7.7%
• Jack Blocker +1200 7.7%
• Dawson Slade +1400 6.7%
• Madai Chakell +1500 6.3%